Page 25 of The Forgotten Throne

“They’re gone,” I answered.

Cole placed one hand on my shoulder and the other gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Who’s gone? You’re going to need to spell it out for us.”

“The Clan Leaders, Gavin’s parents, and Naytan, the second-in-command of the military here in Sheca,” I explained, his touch grounding me. “What if they are going to the Lost King? Giving me and Sheca up in exchange for getting their kingdom back and me gone?”

“Slow down, Cassy-bear,” Dayson murmured, stepping up behind me and putting his hands on my waist. “We don’t know anything yet other than they aren’t here. Do we know where they went?”

“Vasin is looking for them. He can fly unseen now that it’s dark out,” I answered.

“Okay, that’s a good start. Now why is this freaking you out so badly?” Dayson questioned. “You’ve faced a lot of things and not been this bothered, why now?”

I tilted my head back to look up at him, letting it rest on his chest and taking a moment to soak in his strength. “If they destroy Sheca, it will have been all my fault. There will be no one left to stop him. Us coming here was our last hope to survive through this war and I don’t know who I can trust.”

“You can trust in me, Queen Cassarah. I was present during a few of these talks. What do you need to know?” Phillip asked, stepping forward. “I believe that an alliance with you is the best thing for me, my kingdom, and all our people. Tell me how I can fix this.”

Stepping out from between my two guardians, I faced the young crown prince, searching his face, but only finding it full of earnestness. “What was their plan?”

“Originally it was going to be Garold staying behind with those of the Bronze Reapers, Jade Talon, and they seemed to think they could get the Wind Fists as well. If they could have a large enough group, then they would have a spy go along with you to find Sheca. If it was worth the trouble, they would attack it and take it over for themselves. Then you showed up with a hundred dragons and made a very compelling argument about how that plan wouldn’t work if they wanted to avoid the Lost King. Ballard has been arguing with them the whole time, but he is only one person and doesn’t have the same standing as he used to according to them,” Phillip shared. “I honestly don’t know where they went tonight. There was no new plan in place. There had been talk of stealing the key from you but you’re too well guarded and always wearing it. That doesn’t matter now that you’ve opened the castle. I don’t see how they can make a case for you not being the rightful ruler of this kingdom.”

“Cass, I found them. They are just outside the valley headed for the border of the Unclaimed Dragon Lands. I think I know what they are doing, and we need to get there before it can happen. I’m coming back but you’ll need to get all your people on a dragon now!”

“Zan, who can we trust here that are dragon riders? We need to get to the Unclaimed Dragons Lands border quickly,” I explained.

He took a moment to think that over then nodded his head. “Give me a moment to find them and I will be right back. Come on, Ezzu, it’s time to go hunting.” The little gold dragon gave a battle cry before she leaped off his shoulder into the night sky with Zan hot on her heels.

“What did Vasin tell you?” Jade commanded.

“Back off, man. Give her a minute. Can’t you see this is freaking her out?” Dayson growled, stepping in to block Jade from me.

This couldn’t be happening now. I needed them to all work together, not stand here arguing. “Enough! We can’t do this right now. Whatever issues you have with each other, you’ll need to deal with later on your own time. Right now, we need to stop whatever chaos the Clan Leaders are trying to cause. Anyone have a problem with that?”

“No, Your Majesty,” Abbott answered, shoving the two men apart. “We, as your guardians, shall do our duty to you and the people under your protection to keep them all safe.”

Hearing Abbott’s tone that I remembered all too well from our days of training together, I wasn’t surprised when they all agreed with him. “Wonderful, now Jade and Paxton, will you please call your dragons? We need to get moving as soon as Zan is back.” The gentle whoosh of air above me was I all needed to know that Vasin was back and preparing to land. “Don’t be alarmed, it’s just Vasin.”

Wind whipped around us as he dropped to the ground in more haste than I had seen from him before shaking the ground under our feet. “Cass, climb on and bring another with you. We don’t have time to lose.”

“Zan should be back with others—”

“No time, let’s go!”

Rattled by his intensity about this matter, I grabbed who was closest to me which happened to be Dayson. “You’re with me. Let’s go.”

“Cassarah, where are you going?” Jade called after me.

“Vasin said we have to go now and I’m not going to argue with the dragon. The rest of you will be able to catch up to us easily enough once Zan and the rest get here,” I answered as I climbed up on Vasin.

My ever-cautious dragon didn’t even wait for me to buckle the first strap before he tossed himself up into the air and shot off in the direction we needed to go. Dayson wrapped his arms around me as I was flung back, not ready for the speed Vasin was going. Dayson seemed to have managed to get at least one strap done, keeping him attached to Vasin as we flew at crazy speeds.

“Vasin, you need to tell me what is happening. I can’t go into this blind. I need you to give me something to work with here,” I begged, feeling my pair-bonds panic.

“Naytan told them the secret about dragons and where the magic or as you call it, Birthrights, came from. If they are at the dragon lands, it means they are looking to trap dragons into an agreement with them so they can gain power. We can’t let the cycle repeat itself, not when we are so close to being free like we once were.”

“None of that makes any sense,” I argued. “What is the secret?”

“The reason your Birthright is so strong is because I bit you. The venom from a dragon is what transfers the magic into a person, but the only way they survive it is to be bonded together for life. If the dragon rejects the person, it will kill them and the person they bit, only for the dragon it doesn’t happen right away. The human will die instantly but the dragon will become wild, and their minds will slowly begin to rot, turning them into mindless beasts, vanishing into the dragon lands where they will die years later. This is why there was an agreement with the dragons that we could choose if we wanted to be bonded with a human or not. We were supposed to keep our freedoms like the dragons do here to live our lives and help when we are called on, but the other kingdoms turned us into slaves to win their wars.”

“How could they control a dragon?”