Page 31 of The Final Battle

Dividing the royal city from the rest of the countryside was a massive stone wall that I imagined took years to build and gave protection against attack. It also ensured that those not worthy enough to be in the city limits stayed out. This kingdom, like so many others, loved to make a clear distinction between the haves and the have nots. My hope was that they treated all their people with the same respect if they were in need.

Knowing my little bird the way that I did, she would have no problems encouraging them to change their ways. Many times, she’s talked about the future once this war is over, and how she hopes her fellow allies will join with her to rebuild our great land. Tonight, I planned on talking to her about what I told the others, so we could openly discuss what areas I was involved in. Paxton had already planned to locate his notebooks full of information, as well as gathering a few spies he trusted to talk with us. The more we knew about the underbelly of this kingdom, the easier it would be to spot what the Lost King was using the queen for.

She still hasn’t completely recovered. There were many moments that she would forget words or events that happened while she was under the influence of the Lost King. It reminded me of elders I’ve seen when their minds start to fade and they lose a bit of who they once were. King Thomas’s hope was that being home might settle her, helping her to remember things in normal surroundings.

Since this kingdom wasn’t equipped to deal with as many dragons as we had, the landing took a little finagling, but we managed it in stages. I’m sure the people of the city were all gawking up at the sky, watching us as we circled above waiting for our turn to land. Tahir let out a roar, spitting fire and showing off as he saw little kids running down the street pointing at him. The children all clapped and jumped around excitedly at the performance.

Tahir landed in the courtyard, quickly tucking his wings to his side so he didn’t crash into Dayson and Hegg next to us. Grabbing my bag, I tossed it over my shoulder and sent my dragon off to play, exploring the new city. Cassarah instructed all our dragons to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Creisal was a large kingdom and we needed a clear handle on what was happening within it.

“Trying to create your own fan club?“ Dayson teased, shoving me with his shoulder. “I saw Tahir strutting his stuff.“

“Believe it or not, but that dragon has a penchant for the dramatics. He loves the attention as much as I hate it, but he’s spent most of his life keeping us hidden. I don’t see the harm in him goofing off now,“ I answered, with a grin.

Dayson and I joined Cassarah where she was standing with Prince Phillip and Gavin, who’d flown together.

“Did you get a chance to say goodbye to your mother?“ I heard Cassarah ask.

Phillip shook his head, sadness written all over his face. “She refused to talk to us, instead she just screamed about how we were turning her whole family against her, even her sister.“

Cassarah placed a hand on his arm, giving it a simple squeeze. “I understand what it feels like to be rejected by the family we love. My parents decided it was more important to them to keep their title and riches than to save their lives. All we can do is accept their choices and know that we did all we could.“

My anger when I found out that her mother all but spit in the messenger’s face at the offer roared in my veins once again. When she first told us, I had to leave the room before I said something I shouldn’t. They were still her parents, no matter how badly I wanted to beat some sense into them.

“Excuse me, Queen Cassarah?“ an elderly gentleman approached. “I’m Jenkan, the palace steward, would you allow me to escort you to your chambers?“

Cassarah looked over at us since Gavin, Dayson, and I were the only guardians with her. “Let’s have Gavin stay here while Day and I come with you.“ I offered. “Then once the others have landed they can join us, but I don’t want you going anywhere without two of us.“

Jenkan seemed to take offense at this as he spluttered his indignation. “The queen is an honored guest here, and an ally. What danger does she have from us?“

“That,“ I said, poking the old man in the chest. “Is for me to worry about. Now, please lead the way so her Majesty might be able to settle in a little before dinner.“

Jenkan scowled as he brushed off his shirt like I’d left something behind with my touch. When he turned to Cassarah he bowed and gestured for her to follow him. “Right this way, we’ve made sure to keep all the rooms close, since you have so many in your party. There is a room for a ladies maid in your chamber, so that she might attend to you more conveniently.“

Dayson snorted and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Oh, Becka’s gonna love that, now she can’t hide from what might go on at night.“

We both grinned and chuckled but that was cut off from the scolding look we got from Cassarah. Seems we would need to tone things down while we were guests in this prudish castle. Guess we couldn’t have that wild orgy I was going to suggest now that we’d all been with our queen. It was clear to us all that our woman had a veracious side to her that none of us saw coming, but damn was it going to be fun to explore.

Chapter nineteen

Cassarah

As the palace steward warned, the rooms were close to each other but none of them were interconnected or were as close as my men would like them to be. Instead, they decided to double bunk so they could cut down on the rooms needed and keep us all more tightly grouped. Becka and May would switch out who would sleep in the maid’s room, along with one or two of my men in my bed.

While the castle was in a tizzy about the changes and the clear demonstration of how little we trusted being in our allies’ kingdom, they didn’t know the whole story. King Thomas agreed it was smart for us to be overly cautious since he couldn’t be sure who was with him or who was working for the Lost King. Part of what I hoped to do was root out those moles as I discovered what it was the Lost King hid in Creisal.

“Mouse,“ Cole murmured as he wrapped his arms around me kissing my cheek. “Will you try and rest a little before the feast? You’ve been up since the crack of dawn working on things. I don’t want you to push yourself too hard.“

I leaned into his hold, resting my head on his shoulder and letting the warmth of his body slowly recharge me as we stood looking out at the stunning coastline. “I don’t think I know how to do anything halfway. When I study, I get lost in the words memorizing everything I can so that when the day comes I need to remember it, I will. Look at me, I couldn’t even just love one man I decided on eight,“ I giggled turning so I could wrap my arms around him as I looked into his face. “Being here is so important, I just can’t seem to turn my brain off long enough to relax.“

He gave me a wicked grin as he nuzzled my nose. “Want me to give you something else to think about? I’m sure I could find a way to distract you.“

Pushing up on my tiptoes I sealed my lips to his, letting him draw me into the moment instead of focusing on the future. Lifting one of my hands, I gripped the back of his neck pulling him down to me as he slipped his tongue between my lips, deepening the kiss. Desire rose in me, causing my breasts to ache and my core to tingle with expectation.

Cole pulled back with a growl, grabbing me by the waist and tossing me over his shoulder. He marched to the bed and tossed me down, letting me plop into the softness of the mattress. There was movement above me and Izel’s face appeared with a knowing smirk.

“Well, hello there my little warrior. Did Cole finally convince you to take a break from trying to save the world all on your own?“ Izel asked, before placing a soft kiss on my forehead, nose, then lips. “Now the question is do we play, or should we behave and let you get some rest?“

The part of me that always leans towards being responsible wants to be good, not knowing what might come in the future, and to rest. Meanwhile, the new urges my consorts had brought out in me had been ignited by Cole’s passion, begging for them to free my mind from the seriousness of our situation. Searching Izel’s eyes, I saw my answer reflected in them and decided to let my body rule in this moment.