Page 34 of The Forgotten Throne

“I can get the middle on but not the top one... who has a sword with them?” I called out to the others having an idea.

“Yeah, I don’t think any of us are going to hand over a sword for you to wave about in the dark mouse,” Cole objected.

Scowling at him I set my hands on my hips. “Really is your faith in Abbott’s training so little that you don’t trust me to hold a sword?”

Hearing this Abbott turned to face his friend with a questioning brow waiting for his response. Cole tried to speak a few times but gave up and tossed his hands in the air. “Fine, fine, I’ll give the crazy lady on the shoulders of an idiot that she might accidentally stab in the process of opening a shutter. I was just trying to look out for everyone.”

Even though I tried to keep a straight face, I just couldn’t do it and I burst out laughing and almost fell off Dayson’s shoulder in the process. “Whoa, watch out, Cassy-bear, wouldn’t want Cole thinking he was right about this whole situation now would we.”

“No that would be a travesty to inflate his ego even more than it already is,” I answered, trying to pull myself together. “Okay, I’m good, I’ll take the sword now.”

Cole stepped up and held out the hilt of his sword but paused just before I could grab it. “You sure about this big guy?”

“Give her the damn sword already,” Dayson growled.

With a shrug of his shoulders Cole handed over the weapon and with Dayson’s help I was able to get the last latch free without any incidents. Izel and Abbott pulled open the shutters, and the room became that much brighter. We would need to open a few more to negate the use of the lanterns but it helped.

“Well since you’re up there want to open more of them? We’re gonna need to get to them all eventually so why not start on this side?” Dayson suggested as he moved to the next window.

After a few we figured out a perfect system and we managed to get all the shutters open on one side of the room flooding the place with light. Eventually we would deal with the other but for now this was more than enough to see by and take in the splendor of the stonework in the space. I returned the sword to Cole before Dayson set me down so I could wander the room. We were close to another set of tall wooden double doors that I guessed would be the throne room. As I got close to the doors, I noticed that dragons were carved into the wood as if they were facing each other, a clawed hand resting where the door rings were making it seem like you needed to get past the dragon to get to the throne.

I gasped as I entered awestruck by what lay before me. The ceiling was made of glass so the room was bright showing off the polished marble floor that seemed to have gold veins running through it. The room was about half the size as the nave we just walked through but just as impressive with its high ceilings. At the far end of the room was a massive black stone dragon with jeweled eyes that glimmered in the sunlight, its tail wrapping around the throne as if protecting it from those who would dare take it from them. Before I knew it I was walking up the steps to the simple stone chair with black velvet cushions that seemed lush to the touch. When I reached the top step, I felt something in the air shift and the stone dragon came to life lifting its head and inspecting me as it sat up on its haunches. Its emerald eyes bore into my soul as its wings flared out trying to intimidate me.

“Who dares approach the Forgotten Throne?”

“I Cassarah of the Raven Rose clan, Dragon Queen of the mercenaries,” I announced to the dragon. “I have come with our people who have been gone and return to our home in our time of need. It is time for the people and dragons of Sheca to rise up once again and take their place in the world.”

The dragon blinked once, the only sign that he understood what I’d just said. “Prove you are the Dragon Queen the heir to the Dragon Castle and the Forgotten Throne. Take your place on the throne it shall decide if you are worthy or not Cassarah of Raven Rose.”

“Cassarah don’t you dare do what the creepy stone dragon is saying,” Jade barked out.

I whirled seeing all of them fanned out at the base of the steps watching what was happening.

“She needs to prove to the magic in the castle that she is who she says she is. No harm will come to her this is her rightful place, trust in our Queen,” Zan countered.

“Oh sure of course you believe that you come from this crazy place where magic is normal and stone dragons coming to life isn’t a sign you might be going crazy,” Paxton muttered. “But sure tell the woman we all have feelings for to sit on the throne and possibly get burnt to a crisp.”

“How little faith you have in your woman,” May stated, crossing her arms. “Sit on the damn chair Cassarah and prove to them the warrior that you are so they stop treating you like a fucking flower.”

Hearing May’s words made me grin, but I knew she was right. As much as the guys cared they did see me as something delicate and to be protected at all costs. This moment right here was the turning point I knew it deep in my soul. The moment I sat on the throne no matter what happened I would be crowned the Dragon Queen but the dragons and the gods sealing my fate to these people for the rest of my life. With this choice the coronation didn’t need to happen and I’d be lying to myself if I wasn’t a little grateful for that.

I took a step forward before turning and slowly sat down on the throne resting my hands on the armrests sitting tall and squaring my shoulders. This is where I belonged and there was nothing that was going to change that not even a stone dragon, I knew it just like I knew that the men and women standing before me would stay by my side forever no matter what came our way. In this moment of perfect clarity I also knew that each one of those men would hold a piece of my heart and without them all I wouldn’t be whole nor would they. The gods brought us together because each of us held something that the other lacked but together we were complete, able to accomplish anything we set our minds to—like stopping the Lost King.

As all of these thoughts came rushing through my mind, I noticed that I had closed my eyes at some point, when I opened them I found myself in a swirl of blue light. My Birthright was like a tornado around me and when I realized it the magic burst from me and flowed through the castle and I could feel it unlocking every door and bursting open every shutter like the castle was welcoming me back with open arms. I could also feel Vasin was nearby perched at a roost made in one of the castle’s towers created just for the rule king or queen’s dragon. Our bond hummed as our magic flowed through the rest of the castle and each other creating the final piece to our already powerful connection.

“Cass, do you know what you’ve just done?” Vasin asked.

“Become queen?” I answered hesitantly. “Because that’s what I was trying to do.”

“You have done more than that. You’ve just freed the dragons from the deal that they made with the first king of the mercenaries allowing them to no longer be drawn the magic held by any ancestors that still have it. Any bond that is made from this point on will be made out of free will and free will alone. You have just changed history my dear Cass!”

“How could I have done that? I just sat on the throne?”

“When you reached out to me just now you gave yourself completely over to our bond wishing for nothing in return except my friendship and happiness. You don’t wish to control me or take anything from me that I’m not willing to give, making a new agreement with the ruling dragon and the ruling mercenary. Once a new oath is made, it cancels out the old one freeing all dragons alive and to come from what was done in the past.”

I had no idea what to say to that and before I got the chance to ask anything else I was yanked back to the throne room at the pain of something being burned into my skin in the middle of my chest. I let out a scream that was echoed by others but I couldn’t focus on anything outside of what was being done to my body. Then just as fast as it happened it was over causing me to slump forward in the throne panting as I regained my senses. There was a strange weight on my head alone with a dull ache of my chest causing me to raise a hand but it was met with cool metal instead of my hair. Confused, I lifted the metal off my head and held it in front of me and found it was a crown. It wasn’t gaudy or covered in jewels, it was a simple peaked circle with delicate metal stamping that made it look like dragon scales were pressed into the metal.

“In the sight of dragons and gods you have been chosen, Cassarah Dragon Queen, ruler of the Dragon Castle who sits on the Forgotten Throne. May your rule be long and prosperous.” The stone dragon intoned as it returned to its original position like nothing had ever transpired.