Chapter 22 Lily #2
Zehemoth’s enormous body landed in the courtyard, his black scales dark as night, his eyes so black it was hard to find them in low light. The ground trembled beneath his feet before he folded his wings into his body.
He dipped his head so he could brush his cheek against me, his breaths making my hair fly back in the gust. You called for me, Sunieth?
My palms glided over his soft scales, and I stood directly before one of his big, beautiful eyes. “There’s something I need to tell you. And I wanted you to hear it from me instead of someone else.”
He slowly withdrew his head, moving at a distance where he could regard me with both eyes. I don’t like the heaviness of your words, Sunieth.
I shared everything I’d told my mother and Hawk. “I know this is hard, Zehemoth. But you can’t come with me.”
Where you go, I go.
“Not this time.”
He released a plume of smoke from his nostrils. It formed a long cloud that trailed up to the sky. I won’t let you sail into a war without a mighty dragon to watch your back. The Southern Isles are home to both humans and dragons. We fight and die, side by side.
“I appreciate your sentiment, but these golden spikes frighten me.”
They’re no match for dragon scales.
“But we don’t know that. Half of you are keeping my father alive, so if one of you is pierced with this cursed gold, I doubt you’ll be able to heal yourselves. Every wound will be a fatal one. I can’t let any of you fly into battle without proper protection, at least.”
And I can’t have you sail into battle without a single dragon to burn your enemies.
“I know this is hard, Zehemoth. But you have to let me go.”
Another plume of smoke left his nostrils.
I have to do no such thing. I’m a free dragon who can do anything I please.
He pushed another cloud of smoke out of his nostrils in his stubbornness.
You’re my human, the one I’ve chosen to share half of my soul, and I will not let you go into battle without me.
“Zehemoth—”
No.
“Then as Queen of the Southern Isles, I order you to remain behind with the rest of your kin.”
The smoke he released from his nostrils was a cloud so thick it blocked my vision for a moment. I couldn’t see him in front of me, couldn’t see the sky.
“I can’t risk anything happening to you.”
And I can’t risk anything happening to you, Sunieth. Why is it your duty to care for me and not my duty to care for you?
“Because I’m the queen, and it’s my responsibility to care for the dragons.
If you come with me, they’ll be aiming only for you, and there’s a good chance that one of them will hit you because you’ll be the only dragon in our army.
You won’t be an asset but instead a target.
And how am I supposed to win this battle if I’m constantly worried for you?
If the circumstances were different, you and the others would be coming to my aid.
But I can’t in good conscience let the dragons come when I know it’ll be a slaughter.
You know the powers that have been granted to me.
I don’t need the protection of a dragon, not when I have the protection of—” I cut myself off before I finished the sentence, before I started an argument with Zehemoth right in advance of my departure… and possibly didn’t return.
A cloud of smoke didn’t rise from his nostrils, but he stared me down with a ferocity I’d never witnessed before.
You think the protection of a god is stronger than the love of a dragon?
It was love that saved your father from the underworld.
It was my father’s bond to his soul that kept him on this side of the veil so he couldn’t be claimed.
The reason you exist at all was because my father’s love triumphed over the forces of evil—and don’t you forget it.
“Zehemoth—”
Zehemoth abruptly turned away from me and opened his wings. He walked to the edge of the cliff and the courtyard then tipped forward, dropping down to the village below. The beat of his wings was audible a moment later, and then he flew into the distance.
I could still speak to him with my mind, but I didn’t bother to try, not when I knew he would block me out. So I watched him fly away from me, my heart heavy from the pain, but also relieved, because now I knew he wouldn’t try to come with me.
I left the Southern Isles with a fleet of ships armed with cannons and soldiers ready for war. Stood on the bow of the ship next to the captain as he navigated our galleon in the lead, heading east in the hope we’d beat the Barbarians’ arrival.
If King Ithaca were smart, he would still prepare his men for battle.
It was the first time I’d done something recently without my brother to accompany me, and I realized now how strong that connection had grown because I felt a little lost without him. I had two of my father’s commanders who served me with the same respect as my father, but I still felt alone.
Even though I was never alone, because Callum was always there.
I looked at the sea all around us, the smell of the salt on the air reminding me of my father, and then I headed down to my royal chambers. It was a room with a bed and a desk holding maps and chess pieces. The windows in the rear showed the view of the sea from the back of the ship.
I stood over the map and stared at it, unsure where the Barbarians would come from. Perhaps we’d cross their path on the way to the east. Perhaps a war would break out right where we stood.
When I lifted my chin to look out the window, I couldn’t see the sea—because Callum blocked my view.
Kingly in his midnight-blue uniform with his black armor pieced together over his impressive mass, he was a terrifying sight…
but a comforting one to me. His enormous blade jutted over one shoulder, his dark blue cape hanging down the cliffs of his shoulders. He stared at me across the table.
“Do you know their location?”
He shook his head.
“You said you see everything…”
“When I know where to look. I knew their previous location, but they’re a blade of grass on the sea now. Though we know where they’re headed.”
“I hope we make it there first.”
“There’s a chance of victory either way. With their ships trapped against the shore, you’ll have your opportunity to destroy them. And once those ships are gone, you can call for aid from your dragons.”
“Perhaps…” If Zehemoth ever wanted to talk to me again.
His eyes were like daggers that penetrated my flesh. “What is the meaning of Sunieth?”
It took me a moment to understand the question, the subject changing from the war on the horizon. “Sister.”
He nodded slightly.
“You can hear Zehemoth’s thoughts?” I asked in surprise.
“No.”
“Then where did you hear that? He’s the only one who calls me that.”
“Hawk said it in your last conversation.”
Realization hit me, recalling the nickname he hardly ever used.
“I wish I could hear both sides of your conversation with Zehemoth. Not to pry, but to understand. I know the two of you have a deep relationship. It’s the one part of you that remains a mystery to me.”
“We’re close. Have been since he was born. We grew up together. I watched him learn how to fly. We’ve had our ups and downs like any two friends, but the love is there.”
“What ups and downs do you speak of?”
“Well, a couple years ago, I told him I didn’t want to rule the Southern Isles.
Asked him to keep it to himself because I didn’t want my father to know.
But he told his father, who told mine. Obviously, my father and I worked it out and everything was fine, but it still bothered me that he betrayed my trust.”
“Have you shared this resentment with him?”
“I don’t resent him.”
“But it’s something that still bothers you. That qualifies as resentment.”
“No, I haven’t talked to him about it. I’m sure he didn’t mean to. He wouldn’t hurt me on purpose.”
“Then perhaps a conversation would be beneficial. That way, you can forgive him.”
My eyes dropped down to the map on the table between us. “Maybe. But right now, we’re in the middle of another spat.”
“I felt the tension of your parting.”
“He said he wanted to come, and I said no.” My eyes stayed on the map, picturing eyes as dark as midnight…and as mad as the underworld.
“A dragon’s instinct is to protect their hatchlings and kin. If he considers you a sister, then letting you go must go against his nature.”
“I know, but it’s too dangerous.”
“And now I understand why you’ve rejected his offer to fuse.”
My eyes lifted to his again.
“Because he’ll feel me in your heart. And you can’t trust him not to tell his father…and then your father.”
My eyes dropped down to the map again.
“Xivin.”
I kept my eyes on the bishop that lay sideways on the table, knocked over by one of the waves when we departed the docks. I stared at it for a moment longer before I breathed a sigh and looked at him head on.
“This love has become impossible to hide—especially from each other.”
The breath I sucked in through my teeth was instinctual.
My eyes glistened with tears instantaneously, but the sharp breath I took seemed to pull the moisture back into my body.
My hands went to the edge of the table to have something to grip, even though this information was so well known it was stale.
“Perhaps it’s time to let the truth be revealed to those who care for you.”
My eyes flicked down again, afraid to confront the emotions that filled every inch of my heart.
“Because I’d rather they know the real reason I aid you, instead of thinking I want your soul. And I want your father to know that most of all.”
I did my best to appear calm, but my breaths were out of my control. My chest rose and fell, strong enough to raise the armor that weighed down my spine. It was easier to pretend that these emotions didn’t exist than to admit just how powerful they were…since it was doomed.
“Xivin.”
I kept my eyes down a moment longer, afraid to meet the gaze of the man I’d give anything to call my husband someday.
Every day, I mourned the loss of a man who wasn’t gone.
I grieved a death when the grave hadn’t been dug.
But even though every day brought me closer to the end, I somehow fell deeper into his abyss.
When I finally found my breath, I met his fearless gaze.
“It’ll be okay.”
“I’ll never be okay,” I whispered. “Not unless we find a way.”
Now his eyes were the ones to drop. They stared blankly at the map, his mind clearly somewhere else, his thoughts shielded from me. “Let’s vanquish your enemies, ensure peace for the Southern Isles, and bring your father back from the brink of death first. Then we’ll figure out the rest.”