Chapter 47
Chapter
Forty-Seven
EVIE
A s soon as I disembarked the royal ship sent to retrieve us from the Merchants' Prefecture, The Dragon was in front of me. This time, he didn’t need to tap against the barriers in my mind.
I lowered the walls instantly. With the advisors and his parents rushing toward us and Kaya, we needed to be very careful.
The full force of meeting his thoughts halfway made me sway on the spot.
His unflinching gaze quickly scanned me, lingering on the cuts on my arms. “You’re hurt.”
“I’ll heal,” I said in my mind, feeling the echo of my voice in his thoughts. Like we shared some ephemeral space nobody else could access. That same infuriating part of me sighed in satisfaction at the mental tremble of it, the traitor. “Right now, we have a situation. ”
He raised his brows. “A bigger one than you almost losing your life?”
I looked at the crowd waiting beyond, necks strained, and sent him flashes of my conversation with Kaya. The more I showed, the more furious his energy became.
“Interesting,” he said with barely leashed furry. “Let’s pay them in kind, shall we?”
“Yes, let’s.”
We shared the barrest nod and moved away from each other, a cold display that was so at odds with the blaze in our minds. The mental closeness between us poured right into my chest, making my heart tremble in the best way.
He was inside me.
Inside my mind, at least.
“My darling daughter,” Valuta shrieked for everyone to hear as she barreled into Kaya, engulfing her in a painful hug.
“I’m alive, mother,” Kaya barely managed to mutter, bruised cheek squeezed tightly against Valuta’s shoulder.
“What did you do to your face?” her “darling” mother hissed–I heard it through the echo of The Dragon’s thoughts, because my hearing wasn’t as attuned as his. “Nevermind. I know a good flesh fabricator in the Morgana Clan. In the meantime, make yourself useful and try to cry.”
Valuta leaned back, making a show of turning Kaya’s chin this way and that so the civilians could all see the bruises. “My sweet girl, always doing what’s best for her Clan.”
“As the true queen should.” Banu dramatically threw his arms into the air again. I’d been hasty comparing him to a priest. Right now, he seemed more of a phony medicine man peddling lucky coins.
“Kaya barely made it out alive, Banu.” The Dragon’s voice whipped around us. “She fell into the gorge.”
“But the gods were merciful today, Your Highness.” Banu placed his hand on his heart and bowed, in a poor imitation of a warrior’s greeting. “They lifted her high into the sky.”
“No, the Blue Queen did.”
“Helped by the strength of the gods–”
“The gods might have been watching over them,” The Dragon said calmly, crossing his hands behind his back. “But they could have both died.”
“Kaya saved me first,” I said.
Valuta’s grip on her daughter’s chin tightened hard enough that Kaya yelped. I rushed toward them, took her slim hand in mine, and guided her away from the awful beast that was her mother.
Valuta’s nostrils flared, but she composed herself. The Sages finally reached the port, most of them red in the face and out of breath from running. It served them right, those bellies hadn’t gorged themselves while they’d lied about the supplies.
“What in Xamor’s name happened?” Eldryan’s booming voice quieted the murmurs. Such a curious thing. He looked like a king, tall and majestic, with the body of a warrior and the bottomless gaze of someone who had lived through enough to know better.
Yet he was utterly useless.
“Appearances can be very deceiving,” The Dragon’s voice resounded in my head, filled with bitterness.
I would be, too, if I’d just come back from a war I’d fought for my Clan and the crown–and all its power–didn’t rest on my head.
“I am a patient man,” he said. “Until we rid ourselves of Banu and Valuta, my father needs to rule.”
“Your throne, your patience,” I replied, rubbing soothing circles against Kaya’s wrist. She was trembling harder now than after I’d hoisted her up from the ravine.
“ Our throne.”
There he went again, promising the impossible.
“Our bridge was destroyed,” he said with the same gravel gravity of his father. “The Blue Queen was attacked. No casualties.”
“Our daughter was the one who got attacked.” Valuta stepped forward. “I didn’t see the Blue Queen fall to her death. Kaya will be queen. If anyone is a target, it’s her, not the Lost Daughter.”
I sighed. “Of course.”
Nobody would suspect Banu and Valuta of wanting to murder their own daughter.
“Careful,” he said urgently. “They’re getting ready to strike. We need to make them slip before they do.”
“They’re old foxes. It won’t be easy.”
“Whoever the target was, this is very concerning,” Zavoya said and I could feel The Dragon trying his hardest not to clench his jaw.
“If we find the target, we find the attacker, Your Majesty,” Valuta’s voice turned all sickly sweet as Banu narrowed his eyes at the Sages.
“Yes.” The Port Master cleared his throat and stepped forward. “We demand a full investigation into who dared –absolutely dared –to threaten the life of our beloved future queen.”
“Your Majesties.” Valuta spread her slender arms, head bowing. “Kaya has never hurt a fly. Whoever wants her dead needs to pay.”
Kaya moved imperceptibly behind me, out of her parents’ line of sight, holding on tighter to my hand. I squared my shoulders in front of her.
The Sages cheered their agreement. I couldn’t help but notice Lady Valesya did it half-heartedly.
“Bloody sycophants,” he grumbled.
“Can’t you do that blood thing and shut them up?”
“They have echoes of powers as well and they’d sense it was me. Unless I plan on killing them afterwards, it would not help. Though I’m still debating–especially with the Port Master.”
“Playing the long game is hard.”
“Welcome to the Blood Brotherhood.”
“You’re right, Valuta. Find the target, find the perpetrator,” he said out loud. “Kaya, in all your years spent in the Capital, how many assassination attempts have you faced?”
“N–not one,” she stuttered.
“Blue Queen, you’ve been here a few months. How many assassination attempts have you survived?”
“In the city or does the kidnapping right outside its gates also count?”
A few civilians gasped.
“ If that ever happened,” Valuta said. “You will not sit on the throne. There is no prize to be had by killing you.”
“Then someone is risking a whole lot just for fun,” I said.
Valuta’s eyes narrowed. “Or we might have a case of jealousy.”
The Dragon and I both tensed.
My breathing turned harsh. “Presumptuous, vile, egotistical–”
“Let her finish,” he growled. “And let me take care of her.”
I clenched my jaw. I was tired of this charade. Months of constantly being on edge in case the advisors had a different scheme or jab to throw my way or wondering if the civilians decided to fear me once more and call me Blue Death again.
Guards in my room, hauling me off in my robe.
Having a bridge blown right from under me and Kaya almost dying for it.
Owyn’s house going up in flames because he dared show kindness to me.
Loryk’s hateful eyes as he accused me of his brother’s death.
I was sick of it.
Sick of it all.
“We’ll get them,” he said earnestly. “I promise we will.”
“Meaning?” I hissed between gritted teeth.
“My daughter would have never left Phoenix Peak without guards,” Valuta said. “How do we know you didn’t trick her into accompanying you to the bridge–”
“That is not what happened,” Kaya said, about as forcefully as a rabbit. “I went there of my own accord–”
“Hush, darling,” Valuta hissed. “You’re still in shock. Let your parents handle this.”
“Such devotion to their daughter,” the Port Master said.
“Yes!” Banu finally woke up to his wife’s machinations. “How do we know the Blue Queen, a Protectorate stranger , didn’t orchestrate everything? We all saw how infuriated she was on the wedding day–”
“Banu, are you accusing my wife of an assassination attempt?” The Dragon’s words were molten steel, ready to form into a spear.
Banu’s beard shivered. “Your Highness, we need to look at all the facts–”
“ Banu .” His voice was deadly. “Are you accusing my wife? Again? Don’t think I haven’t heard of what happened while I was at war, defending our Clan on the first lines, while you sat in the safety of Phoenix Peak.”
I waited, tense.
“Thanks for defending me,” I said.
“I always will.”
“Your Highness,” Valuta said quickly. “That was simply a misunderstanding.”
I scoffed. They would have thrown me into the deep ocean if they’d had a chance.
“The Blue Queen explained, all is well,” Valuta went on, very close to groveling for the prince and her audience. Nobody would suspect such a cowering creature of blowing up a bridge. “And don’t mind my husband, he simply wants what’s best for the Clan. If the Blue Queen says she isn’t responsible and has the Clan’s best interests at heart, we will believe her. Again.”
Oh, she was good .
“And we discussed everything with dear Loryn–” She nodded at the Port Master, who almost stumbled to bow toward her, frightened out of his sly mind. “It was all truly a mistake. Nobody can fault us for wanting to make sure the Blood Brotherhood is safe.”
“I want to wring her neck,” I seethed.
“Patience, menace. If violence is what you’re after, you shall have your fill.”
“No,” I rumbled from somewhere deep inside. For that girl who’d been scared most of her life. “I want to squash them and their power.”
“You will.”
“Loryn and I still have matters of our own to discuss.” The Dragon’s gaze slashed toward the Port Master. “We were interrupted by the attack.”
“Your Highness.” Loryn’s grin was disturbing. “As I’ve mentioned, my vessels are vital to the Clan. Especially now, since the bridge between the two sides of the Capital has been destroyed. The silks, pelts, reeds, steel, they all need to be transported somehow. The civilians have endured so much during the war. It would be savagery to force them to go without again.”
I sucked in a breath at the same time The Dragon stiffened.
My heart began to beat faster. “ Are they threatening–?”
“Yes,” he hissed.
“Loryn’s help is invaluable,” Banu said. “Besides, as we have already told you, only the king has the power to replace the Port Master.”
All eyes swirled to Eldryan and Zavoya.
“Your Majesty,” Valuta said softly. “We understand the prince might be feeling a certain way about his wife being accused. Him wanting to protect her is a testament of his good breeding and your firm parental hand, but we cannot divest ourselves of Loryn now. Especially since our Capital has just been attacked–even after the prince’s army has returned.”
“Quite a coincidence, isn’t that, Banu?” The Dragon rumbled.
Banu shrugged, a shit-eating grin spreading over his face as Valuta hovered near the Sages, as if trying to intimidate them into cooperating. There was a disturbing hunger in her eyes–like a snake right before it snapped its jaws and swallowed the mouse whole.
“The gods work in mysterious ways, Your Highness,” Banu said, all pretend piousness.
“Father.” He turned to Eldryan. “You hold the crown. The choice is indeed yours.”
I hated the glimmer of hope I felt in him for the briefest moment, before he snuffed it out with all his Dragon might. Hope that his parents would finally do their duty, for once.
But Eldryan frowned. “This is a tense situation, we’re all on edge after the explosion. We’ll discuss it later.”
Disappointment raced through The Dragon’s veins before it vanished just like the hope had, but I sensed the scars it once again left behind.
“The king speaks true,” Banu went on, despite Valuta sending him a warning look. “Of course, the prince commands the army and has immeasurable power, but the king has the last word. Unless you want the crown faster, which can only be obtained through bloodshed–”
All the air left my lungs with the burst of The Dragon’s fury. “Say that again, Banu. Please .”
Banu finally understood he’d pushed too far. He raised his open palms and the fear in his eyes didn’t seem faked for once. “Your Highness, I only meant to commend your strength–”
The Dragon took a menacing step toward him. Banu backed away, even as Eldryan shook his head, eyes glazing over.
He said nothing to support his son.
“It was a mere comment. We will be lucky when you finally take the throne, once your esteemed father decides to pass the crown to you–” Banu retreated until his back met one of the massive harbor pillars.
No place left to go as The Dragon’s massive frame loomed over him. Banu gulped.
“Banu, you like talking, yes?” The Dragon said, barely leashed fury coating every word.
“Of course, it’s one of my greatest gifts, which I have used for the good–”
“Then I suggest you hold your tongue if you want to keep it.”
“Zandyr,” Zavoya admonished. “Nobody is accusing you of anything.”
Not outright. At least not yet. But a suggestion here, a planted evidence there, a show of weakness at the right time…
Banu and Valuta were also playing the long game, and they had indeed been doing it longer than either of us had been alive.
The Dragon didn’t back down, looking at Banu as if he wanted to squish him.
“Breathe,” I whispered soothingly.
“He just accused me of trying to kill my own father. If they take me down, they will kill you. I should strike him where he stands–”
Hot pain erupted inside him, reverberating straight into me.
The fucking oath, trying to kill him again.
“Breathe!” I struggled through the phantom pain. He must have been in agony. “Don’t let them see they got to you or they win.”
“The Dragon has risked his life to defend the Clan,” I said, drawing attention to me while he breathed through the pain, and hoping blood wouldn’t gush out of his eyes. That’s what a team did–looked out for each other. “The war has barely ended. If he’d wanted the crown, he would have taken it by now.”
“Apologize.” The Dragon’s voice was a lethal whisper.
Banu hesitated. “Your Highness.”
“Now. First to the Blue Queen, then to me.”
Banu’s eyes jumped from him to me, then to his wife. Reluctantly, Valuta nodded, and Banu moved his great glutinous mass and bowed, bending at the hip. He seemed oddly overjoyed to do it.
“Your Highnesses, I ask for your forgiveness. The day has been trying, I almost lost my daughter. Do not judge my decades of loyalty for the good of the Blood Brotherhood against a single burst of emotions,” he said.
The Dragon nodded and held out his hand. As soon as Banu took it, he engulfed him in an embrace that looked more painful than the one Valuta had given Kaya.
“You shouldn’t have attacked her. For this, I will end you,” he muttered only for Banu’s ears–and mine, through the bond. “There will be no place where you could hide, I will cleave the continent in two to find you and your wife. Nod if you understand.”
Banu nodded.
“Good. And if you ever imply I might do anything to my parents, I will cut out that lying tongue. You know all about cutting tongues, don’t you?”
Banu’s eyes widened and his body tried to jerk away. But The Dragon’s grip was too strong.
“None of that,” he said calmly, even as the pain inside him threatened to rupture his veins. “We need to present a united front for the civilians. Smile. ”
Banu smiled.
“Good. Now slink away like the snake you are.”
As soon as he was free from The Dragon’s arms, Banu bolted to Valuta’s side, like a kid trying to hide behind his mother’s skirt.
“You okay?” I sent a tentative question his way.
He took a big gulp of air, fighting against the searing oath. “I’ll live. I didn’t actually raise my hand to the dolt, I only threatened.”
Banu and Valuta exchanged a worried glance. They were afraid.
Good.
She cleared her thin, lying throat and turned to the king and queen. “Your Majesties, emotions are high today. Why don’t we shelve this issue for after the Harvest Festival. Our Clan has won a war, the gods expect a celebration.”
Zavoya blinked too rapidly once more. Whether she was fighting against Valuta’s powers or was overwhelmed by them, I couldn’t tell.
“Yes, the Harvest Festival,” she muttered, graceful fingers touching her forehead. “Zandyr, we need to discuss it.”
He didn’t bother to turn. “Yes, we do.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said tentatively. “I appreciate it, but now the advisors know.”
And what was that about the cutting off his tongue?
“Let them know we can’t be toyed with,” he growled. “They’ve gone unchecked for far too long. The Sages still support them, thinking that might save them.”
“The civilians aren’t quite so convinced anymore.” There was no bowing Banu and Valuta’s way this time, and most didn’t even look at them. The eyes never lied.
“Too bad my parents still are.” He rolled his shoulders back, sending me a quick glance. “I’ll ask Master Sylvannis to visit you.”
“Send him to Kaya, she’s in worse shape. Goose will patch me up just fine.”
“I can’t wait for this all to end,” he said even as he turned and fell into step with his parents, walking as far away from them as he could without raising suspicion. He wouldn’t even look at them. That same disappointment flashed in him again–then he felt shame and guilt at himself for allowing such emotions once more, even after all these lonely years of trying to keep the Clan afloat by himself.
My heart ached for him.
“Dragon?”
“Yes, menace?” he replied, sounding almost happy I’d reached out this time.
“You’re not alone in this. I’ll help you take down Banu and Valuta.”
“Thank you,” he said, his relief coursing through the connection.
Right as I began to stitch back the barrier, guilt spread through me. How could I make such promises when I was thinking about–
Not now, I screamed at myself.
This wasn’t the time and place to discuss this.
This could wait.
But The Dragon sensed the guilt and the ugly thought that clung to it.
Divorce.