Page 9 of The Forgotten Throne

“Steps?”

“Yes, I assume you have gone through the full coronation since you have your guardians. Who have you chosen as your consorts? I see these men don’t hold that mark. Are there more back with the rest of your people, waiting for you?” Lawrence inquired, looking down his nose at my guardians.

Shifting in my seat, I looked up at Zan confused, but he just shrugged his shoulders unsure as I was. “I think it might be best if we assume I’ve completed nothing. My coronation was not planned and happened more on the spot out of necessity. When I came to the clans around six months ago, I was tasked with a year of training in all things mercenary on top of learning the history and role of being queen. I’d been kidnapped by the Lost King and was saved by one of my other guardians who brought me to the fortress where I was announced as queen. My Birthright is what picked my guardians out of necessity, not in the typical fashion of one from each clan.”

Now it was their turn to look stunned and confused. Eleazar sputtered as he tried to find the word to express his displeasure at what I’d just told him. “Gods above, that—whatever that was, is absolutely no coronation!”

“Calm yourself, my old friend, we don’t know how things have changed in the past four hundred years,” Mathew chimed in, trying to sooth Eleazar. “You do not wear a crown either. Is there another mark to establish you are queen?”

I pulled out the pendant that I wear all the time since I’d been given it. “This is the symbol of royalty, and it is also a key to unlock certain rooms or things meant for our eyes only.”

“May I?” Mathew asked, holding out a hand.

Slipping the necklace off, I handed it to him and watched as he studied the design. It was of a dragon curled around a sword, and the tip of the sword was what made the key.

“Do you know what you have here?” Mathew asked, his voice full of reverence. “That’s foolish of me to ask. I’m sure you don’t, seeing as you didn’t know we existed until meeting Zan. This, my dear girl, is the key to the Dragon Castle.” Upon hearing the shocked sounds coming from his friends, he handed over the necklace for them to inspect as well.

“This is proof that the king always planned to return. Why else take the one and only key to the castle with you?” Eleazar announced as he looked down at it in his hands, rubbing a thumb over it. “It’s been locked up for four hundred years, an impenetrable fortress that can’t even be accessed by dragons once it’s been secured. It’s one of the reasons we use this building to conduct our work and not the castle as it should be.”

Just when I didn’t think more surprises could pop up, they just kept coming. I was going to assume that everything had more meaning to it than I was told so it would make it easier for me when things like this happened.

“You’re telling me that castle we saw when we flew in hasn’t been touched in four hundred years?” Izel asked, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “How is it still intact if no one has maintained it?”

“We might not be able to get inside but that doesn’t mean we will let it fall into ruin,” Eleazar grumbled. “We’ve maintained what we could from the outside.”

I could tell the others had more questions, but they could wait a little longer. “Back to the coronation, what is it that you require?”

Lawrence flipped through the pages of the book before he handed it to me. “Here is the outline that has been laid out for us.”

Taking the book, I settled it in my lap and read over what was written, surprised at the level of detail listed. This reminded me more of how things were done in Norden, but with a few differences. “Do you still have all the things needed for this to happen?”

“We have some but the rest of it is locked away safely in the castle. Now that we have the key, we will be able to gather those as well,” Mathew said, giving me an excited smile. “To think, we will be the first to see the inside in over four hundred years. Think of all the things we can learn!”

Before the others could get too excited, Ann poked her head into the room. “Dinner is ready if you would like to come to the dining room.”

Thankful to have the break, I stood and followed the others out. I knew that this place would hold secrets, but I didn’t know just how many there would be. It seemed around every corner there was something more. We haven’t even broached the subject of dragons or Birthrights either. It might be better to wait for those revelations once we’ve gathered our people here and have had time to dive into everything once the castle is reopened.

Chapter Six

You Have How Many Dragons?

Dinner was a delightful change of pace of roast chicken, vegetables, and fresh bread along with some wine. I hadn’t had much experience with wine, seeing as my mother didn’t let me have it except for special occasions. I sipped at it slowly, remembering the night I overindulged in drinking with my guardians. It was nice to see everyone relaxed and enjoying the meal. The viceroy shared stories of what life was like here in Sheca. Hope filled me as it seemed like this might be what we’d been looking for all along—a place to start again and to build our people up, no longer looking over our shoulders, wondering when the next attack would happen.

I was thankful I kept Sheca a secret until the time was right. Payson knew that Zan came from somewhere else, but he didn’t know the exact location, giving us more time before the Lost King turned his attention to us. If I were him, I would have sent a group of dragons to attack the fortress, knowing we would all be hidden away in there. The Lost King making his move on the fortress and discovering we were gone would tell us just how much time we had before he started looking for us. My hope was he would have his hands full dealing with the Royal City and taking over Norden. That would give us the chance to regroup. Only time would tell.

“Your Majesty.”

Lawrence’s voice had me refocusing and by the look on his face, I could tell it wasn’t the first time he’d tried to get my attention. “I’m sorry, it’s hard not to get lost in trying to stay one step ahead of danger.”

“Such is the life of a wise ruler.” He nodded in understanding. “I was only hoping to offer whatever assistance we could to you, as your people journey their way here.”

“What would be most helpful is getting a group of dragon riders to come along with us. If we can have them take some of the important supplies and maybe some of our elderly, it will free up horses,” I explained. “Even then I would love to get a few waves of dragon riders so that we can move people at a faster rate through the treacherous mountains.”

“Then it shall be done. How many men and dragons were you hoping to send in the first wave?” Mathew asked.

“How many do you have to spare?” I countered.

Mathew grinned as he sat back in his seat. “Roughly six hundred or so.”