Page 39 of The Final Battle

“You can’t be serious, Cassarah,“ Cole snapped. “There’s no way you can just take off right now. What are we going to do with him?“

I looked at the man now tied up and still unconscious on the floor. “I’m sure you will find a way to get information out of him once he’s awake. I believe Izel will be quite helpful and with Paxton here he won’t be able to use whatever magic he has. Zan and Jade are going with me, so I won’t be on my own. I need to know if they are dead or not, I won’t be able to move on without the truth.“

“What if the truth is they are dead? That they were skinned like he alluded to? What good will that do you, except give you nightmares?“ Gavin demanded, anger clear on his face.

“Is there anything I can say that would help any of you accept this choice I’m making?“ I asked, to which all of them just grumbled and looked away from me. “I didn’t think so. Now, I’m doing my best to respect your wishes that I don’t go off and do things on my own. I’m informing all of you what my plan is and bringing backup. Becka, I will need you to contact King Thomas and let him know I’m in need of my rest but lunch would be lovely to share together.“

Becka begrudgingly agreed with a nod. “Fine, but you better make it back or I’ll tell him what really happened.“

“That would probably be wise, because if I’m not back in time, it means I need help or something went terribly wrong. Gavin, you’re in charge as my heir, if there is anything that happens with Sheca or here that I would have needed to respond to, I trust you to make the right judgment.“ Pausing, I gave them all a sad smile. “I love you all, and I’ll be back as fast as I can, I promise.“

Having settled things, I removed my crown and placed it in the velvet box it traveled in. For this, I was going as Lady Cassarah, first born of Baron Charles and Baroness Adeline, not as the Dragon Queen. May helped me get out of my dress so I could put on more appropriate clothes for the journey. Dressed all in black I wanted to ensure I wouldn’t be easily recognized as I twisted my hair up in a tight bun.

Jade and Zan were already on their dragons circling the air above while I dropped once more onto Vasin’s back. We took off, Vasin leading the way, flying faster than we’d ever flown before. I had to lean down as close as I could to his body, so the wind didn’t pull me off as it buffeted against me. I prayed to the fates that we would make it there in time and I would find my family alive. If they were, I would force them to come with me, no longer giving them the option. This no longer just affected them, if the Lost King was going to use them against me, I needed to put a stop to that.

With the world dark and quiet around us, the journey seemed to drag on. It was hard to see anything except for the lanterns in villages as we passed over. When we neared any place that was more populated, Jade would cloak us in shadow. When it happened everything turned black and white, his powers removing all sources of color from the world. It was nice to know that if he ever did that to me without me asking, I would know what was happening.

Then I saw it, the home I grew up in. The mansion itself looked as if nothing was wrong but I got a sense of foreboding when the grounds looked to be ill-maintained. I knew having the Lost King ruling Norden would change things, but I hadn’t expected Henry to be all that interested in the lives of his new subjects. Could it be that he demanded more taxes, stripping people of what wealth they had? There was only one way to find out what was going on and that was to land.

It had only been three days since my dragon riders had been here. Granted, they didn’t get a chance to do anything other than get yelled at by my mother, or at least someone claiming to be my mother. Now that I know people can change their appearance, who’s to say this hasn’t happened before. They wouldn’t have noticed if the grounds were looking run down because they wouldn’t have known what they should look like.

As Vasin landed, I couldn’t hear anything coming from the stables; horses normally reacted to dragons if they hadn’t been raised around them. Sliding off his back, I stood for a moment just taking in the sights and sounds but heard nothing but the chirping of crickets and the cold breeze rustling the trees.

“I don’t like this, Cassarah,“ Zan murmured as he came to stand next to me. “This place feels… evil.“ Ezzu launched off his shoulder and started to scout out the place.

I shifted towards Vasin. “Can you smell or hear anything we might have missed?“

“It’s not good, Cass, what I smell is death. What kind or who I can’t say, but blood has been spilt in this place.“

Jade joined us, placing his hand on my low back. “Tahir and I circled the property to ensure there wasn’t a trap waiting for you and the closest living person is miles away.“

I nodded, acknowledging that I heard him as I stepped forward. I got to the base of the steps and steeled myself for what I might find, already I assumed my parents were dead. It was easier to expect the worst and find that I was wrong instead of having hope only for it to be crushed. With dread growing each step I took closer to the front door, my stomach in knots I turned the handle. It wasn’t locked, the first sign something was wrong. Mother never allowed the front door to be left open.

Moving to the side, I shoved as hard as I could when I met resistance trying to get it open. Zan joined my efforts adding his strength getting the door to budge. A swath of blood arched telling me that it was a dead body that had been blocking the entrance. Carefully, I stepped past the blood to enter my childhood home.

The sight before me was graphic, making my already upset stomach heave, but I clamped a hand over my mouth and closed my eyes. Now was not the time to lose myself to this atrocity, I had to see past the blood sprayed all over the floor and walls to understand what really happened. Hands settled on my shoulder making me gasp, eyes snapping open until my brain caught up to realize it was Zan.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. It just looked like you needed a reminder you’re not in this alone,“ Zan whispered.

Placing a hand over one of Zan’s, I prepared to face the scene in front of me. Bodies littered the floor, blood pooling out around them as flies buzzed around the area, giving me the sense this hadn’t been recent. Faces of people who served my family since I was little were there, along with some that were new to me. What I couldn’t find was the body of either of my parents.

“They’re not here, we should search the rest of the house to see if they might be elsewhere,“ I said, my voice hollow even to my ears. “I’ll take the second floor with Jade if you want to check this level and the barn, Zan.“

“Of course,“ Zan murmured, letting his hands slip off my shoulders as he headed towards the dining room.

Jade was right on my heels as I climbed the staircase like I had so many times before. Only now, the heels of my boots echoed in this lifeless space, as if the heart of the home was no longer alive. When we reached the top, I looked left towards my room then to the right where my parents’ rooms were. They each preferred to have their own since Mother retired early and woke before anyone else. Father and I had always been more of the mind to stay up late.

“This way,“ I directed, heading down the hall to the right. “This is the wing my parents resided in, mine is on the other side.“

Jade didn’t say anything, but his presence was comforting, knowing I didn’t have to be alone like I had been so often in this place. The first door led to Mother’s sitting room and it was slightly ajar making it easier for me to stay in the hall and push it the rest of the way open. The space looked like it always had, everything in perfect order, just the way my mother liked it. Moving on down the hall on the opposite side was my father’s study. This door was shut tight and when I reached out a hand to open it Jade stopped me.

“Let me, just because we don’t think there’s anyone here doesn’t mean you should be going first. They could have set a trap in the hope you would come back here,“ he reasoned.

Nodding, I took a step back and let him enter first. His body blocked my vision, but I could tell by the way he froze that something was in there I didn’t want to see.

“It’s okay,“ I whispered. “Something in me already knows that they’re dead.“

“You don’t need to see this little bird, they tortured him. By the looks of it, whatever they wanted to know he didn’t give up easily, he went through hell,“ Jade said, respect for my father clear in his tone. “He wouldn’t want you to think of him like this, he would want you to remember him alive.“