“So what is the plan?”
“To train you. To bring you up to date with all the dragon breeds and make you familiar with the dragon you need to claim. It’s a lot of work, but if you give the next four months everything, you might get a dragon for your birthday.”
“Is the gift refundable?”
Dad chuckled as he clutched his torso. “I wish it was, bear. I’m sorry that I didn’t try again. You scared me to death, and I traumatized you so much that you couldn’t even look at me. You refused to come near me, so I had no other choice. I’m sorry that she took away the stories. I don’t think she intended that.”
I nodded as a warm breeze caressed my skin. It sure was beautiful here. The colors were brighter, just like the fantasy paintings.
“So what happened? How did you tell me?”
“I shouldn’t have shown you, because that was the part that scared you to death, but you didn’t believe me.”
I nodded. I couldn’t imagine that Dad was a beasty. I needed to change the subject as the knowledge twisted my gut again and a heaviness descended on my chest. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air.
“Tell me about my grandfather?”
“There isn’t much to tell you, to be honest. He was nothing like your father. Louie still hated the Chromatic dragons but loved the Metallic ones. He loved one with all of his heart and when his father, King Alexander, discovered she was a dragon, they killed her. Louie never recovered from that, but when he took over the kingdom, he made a lot of changes for our Metalics. The Chromatics was still a problem. It was your father and his friends, Helmut and Caleb, with Goran that made the ultimate change. That dragon was a dragon no matter the breed.”
I loved his stories about my parents. I still did not know what they looked like, but I didn’t want to impose. There was still a lot to process and maybe I wasn’t ready for them yet, but I loved the stories.
“The ancients have summoned me.”
“Ancients?”
“A group of very old dragons and Dragonians that makes a lot of decisions when the kings can’t. We almost never used them, but Helmut told me since your father’s death, they sort out most of the problems.”
“Why?”
“Because Helmut and Caleb are so different from each other. Caleb’s dragon, Yvonne, perished during that night when the wyverns killed your parents and it changed Caleb’s in so many ways that Helmut doesn’t even know who he is. They lost too much that night.”
I nodded.
“So don’t judge him for that, bear. I’ll be fine.”
“Why do they want to see you?”
“It’s formalities. To find out if I were part of the assassination in Goran’s plan.”
“Dad, that is stupid. I’m here, proof that you didn’t. They wanted you and Tanya to keep me safe.”
“True, but it’s a mission that nobody in Paegeia knew about. So as soon as I’m better, I have to be there.”
“Can I come?”
“I’m sure that you can. I’ll ask Helmut.”
We went back to the castle as he kept speaking about his time with my grandfather. He was a very traditional man, and he struggled with Albert so much. It was hard to make that switch that my dad wasn’t my dad. That someone else sired me and that person was like some sort of hero, not just a king, inside Paegeia.
Jeeves, the butler, helped my father and they disappeared down the hallway. I stayed behind admiring the paintings of the McKenzies ancestors. The room was enormous and golden-flower- swirl-designs covered the entire ceiling. It was so light with the white marble that squeaked under my soles. The smell of today’s flower bouquet of lilies, with purple, red, yellow and blue flowers I’d never seen before, hung in the air. The scent was sweet and hypnotic.
I reached the gigantic painting first. The brass plate said; King Reginald, King Helmut’s father. He looked a bit like his son. Had blond hair, wore a blue uniform with a lot of gold medals that fit with the trimmings and tassels on his shoulders. Blond wavy hair with a golden crown on top and the mother of all mustaches covered his upper lip. Then it was a picture of some sort of cousin. A big guy, with a round face, no neck, double chin. He had droopy eyelids and a crooked nose.
The queen, King Helmut’s mother, was next. She was beautiful. Had long blonde curls cascading down her one shoulder, with thin lips. A beautiful silver tiara with many diamonds glistened on her head. Her skin looked flawless, like soft ivory. In contrast to her blue eyes, she looked magical. She wore a dark blue dress that revealed her shoulders. A lot of Sirs followed, and I struggled to see where they fit in. Were they family?
A gigantic horizontal painting of a red fierce dragon and a younger King Helmut on top of him took up half of the one wall. Was that Emanual? They stood on top of a grassy hill with the mountains and pink and orange skies behind them. Dragon silhouette soared in the distance. The artist rounded off his masterpiece with a bright orange and blue flame dancing on the king’s palm. Remembering what it felt like on top of the same red dragon’s back shot an icy bolt through my body and I shivered.
The next picture was of king Helmut. The way he looked today. He wore the same blue and gold uniform as his father, with a golden crown on his head.
