Messages and Myths
“My Queen, how might I be of service?” Alto asked once we all were seated.
“I need to get a letter to Queen Mary, and I figured you might know the best way to do that,” I explained. “You spent the most time inside the castle, so I figured you would know who to get it to.”
Alto paused a moment, tapping her finger on the wooden table as she thought. “None of our people are in the castle. I was the last to leave, but I know a few people I would trust enough to get a message to the queen. How fast do we need this to happen?”
“How fast can you get it done? If you need to be in Royal City, we can get you there by dragon at a moment’s notice… just say the word,” I answered. “Also, do you happen to know if the queen knows any other languages?”
Alto just blinked at me, “I’m sorry, I don’t know that information.”
“The queen came from Creisal. She knows their traditional dialect, Your Majesty,” Gavin interjected. “It’s commonly spoken there, but we Nordens don’t learn it, so it would be safe to write the letter in that.”
I smiled at Gavin, pleased he knew what I was doing. “That can be easily done, thank you.”
“Wait, you can write Creisalie?” Xio cut in.
“I can read and write many languages while also continuing to learn more,” I answered vaguely, not willing to give up just how many and what kind. “To know the world is your greatest advantage in battle.”
This shut up the others rather quickly, allowing me to continue. “How fast can you reach out to your contacts, Alto?”
“If I can be taken back to Royal City, it will go much faster. I’ll need money for an incentive. They might be friends, but everyone needs a little encouragement,” Alto answered.
“Very well, I will have a letter written for you in the morning, and Jade will take you to Royal City. I trust him to get you in and out safely and undetected. I’ve seen it done myself.”
Alto bowed her head and stood up from the table, leaving the room.
“Queen Cassarah, I caution you on using Jade for such a delicate situation,” Acton stated the moment Alto was out of the room.
Meeting Acton’s gaze, I tilted my head slightly to the side.
“You’re going to need to give me more than that if you want me to believe this is truly an issue and not a grudge against your clansman.
You already stated you don’t claim him as family for some unknown reason, so I find it hard to trust your judgment on this matter.
On the other hand, I have experienced how well Jade does in a situation such as this when he rescued me and again when we freed Prince Gavin. ”
Acton’s eyes widened in surprise and a little bit of fear. “I retract my words. If you believe he’s fit for the job, I will stand behind your choice. Where my half brother is concerned, I do not see the situation clearly.”
“I appreciate your honesty, Acton. It will go a long way with me. Does anyone else have any objections to my plan?” All the other clan leaders shook their heads. I nodded to them and turned to Jade. “How long will it take for you to make it to Royal City from here?”
He started to speak, his face betraying the fact he was going to argue with me, but then took a deep breath. “It will take a few hours to get there and sneak into the city unnoticed. I would expect the mission to take a full day, maybe a day and a half at most.”
“That will give us ample time to deal with the clan dragon riders and return to manage the response.” I nodded, sitting back in my chair.
“I believe that is all I need from the clan leaders. Sal, would you please stay so we can go over a few matters? Oh, and I want a guard with Porvan at all times outside this room. He is still awaiting trial for his actions, and I would like to make sure he doesn’t do anything to add to that list.”
The clan leaders rose and bowed to me as they left the room, Garold having a secure grip on Porvan’s arm.
I was relieved he didn’t argue with me about the matter and took his punishment quietly.
I hoped this wasn’t a sign of him plotting something and trying to throw me off his scent, but he had seemed genuinely repentant of his actions.
If life had taught me anything, it was that everybody could hide secrets behind a smile or even tears to keep you off their scent.
“How might I be of service to you, Cassy?” Sal inquired.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I picked up my pen and placed a clean sheet of paper in front of me.
“What do you know of Utros as a country? There isn’t much I’ve seen noted about them other than they have fertile lands, lots of open plains for livestock, and they generally never like to get involved with other kingdoms after the Battle of the Kingdoms.”
“All of that is true, but do you know why they like to keep to themselves and let the others fight amongst themselves?” I shook my head no as he paused for my response.
“Not many do. Some say what we know is all hearsay, but I think that it’s founded in truth.
They are the first kingdom to have lost the dragons’ respect, causing them to leave and refuse to breed in their lands,” Sal said, waving Isabell over to him.
“Give me the scroll I told you to grab, girl.” Isabell handed over a very old and fragile-looking scroll that looked like it survived the Battle of the Kingdoms itself.
“Do you know what the agreement was with the dragons or when it happened?”
I frowned at him. “No one knows, and the dragons will never say. I’ve asked Vasin, but he says it’s the one thing they have guarded from us.”
“Utros had someone who figured it out and tried to use it for their own gain. He was killed by a swarm of dragons who burned down his home, and they even made sure to kill his family to keep the secret quiet. Now, doesn’t that seem like something we should pay attention to?
” Sal asked as he carefully unrolled the scroll.
A trickle of fear ran down my spine. “Sal, you’re not going to tell me you know what that secret is, are you? I don’t want to force Vasin to kill me over this.”
“No child, that would be downright stupid to do when it’s clear they will do anything to keep it from us. This scroll is from the first King of the Mercenaries you talked about before.”
“I don’t mean to question you, but what does that have to do with Utros?”
“You wanted to know where he went, right? Well, I have the answer to that. Now, you’re better at reading the old tongue than I am, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this talks about another country hidden under Creisal and butts up against the Unclaimed Dragon Lands.”
I gingerly shifted the scroll so I could read it.
The ink they used was faint, and some words were missing altogether from the hide it was written on cracking.
It seemed to be a personal journal from Yash, the first King of the Mercenaries, about his journey to find a new land and forge it into his own kingdom that would appreciate his ideals.
The lands he stumbled upon after getting lost in the Restless Mountains were thick with foliage, but flat ground was hard to find between all the mountains.
Then he found a large open space of lush grass that an entire village could be built upon.
A smaller mountain overlooked the flat lands as if guarding it from outsiders.
That’s where he built his castle with the help of dragons that lived there, preferring the rainier climate to the deserts of the Unclaimed Lands.
These dragons helped him and became his family until he grew his kingdom from people who had lost their way in the Restless Mountains as he had.
Knowing that if anyone found this lush land, they would try to take it from them, he trained all his people—men, women, and children—to fight and defend their homes.
The dragons added their wisdom as well, helping the new country to prosper.
Then one night, the black dragon came to him and explained that their most important secret had been discovered.
King Yash and his best men flew with the dragons to Utros and slaughtered the man, removing any chance that the secret could be leaked.
Seeing how well the men and dragons worked together this way, King Yash decided to make an elite force of fighters who could best any army.
This brought a treaty with Norden, and he helped train their army to fight with dragons as well, making Norden one of the strongest kingdoms outside of King Yash’s.
“How can this be?” I gasped, rereading the passage once again to make sure I was right.
“He was the one who taught our people to ride and fight with dragons? This doesn’t make any sense.
Why don’t we have more information on this from our past kings and queens?
The dragons should have all this information locked away in their memories. ”
“That I cannot answer, Cassy girl, but I think it might be that they could have been waiting for the right person to learn their secrets,” Sal mused out loud.
“You think that’s me? Why on earth would you think that?” I scoffed, brushing him off as a crazy old man. “There have been many great kings and queens for the mercenaries. What could possibly make me different?”
“Cassy, you are the first one to have such a connection with dragons. I heard how you were able to contact Jade’s dragon.
That shouldn’t have been possible. You are not Tahir’s pair-bond, nor is he a black dragon, one of the only kinds that has been known to share their thoughts with another.
What if you are like King Yash, and you can communicate with all dragons? ”
As Sal spoke the words, a memory of my dream came crashing back into the forefront of my mind. “He called me Dragon Queen… but how could he know?”
“Who? Who called you that?” Sal pressed, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
“The Lost King,” I whispered, fear causing a chill to run down my spine.
“Could he know this information too, about King Yash? It does involve Utros history. Could this be tied to why I was kidnapped? Oh God, he was in my brain. He had me in his grasp. If Vasin hadn’t pulled me out of it, I might have been a weapon used against my own people. ”
My breathing was coming quicker and shallower.
I could feel my heart pounding as the horror of what might have been flashed through my mind.
Suddenly, my chair was pulled back, and Izel was kneeling in front of me, his hands cupping my face, speaking to me.
His smooth, silky voice drew me in, and I knew he was using his Birthright on me, but I let him.
I needed to calm down, and I wouldn’t be able to do it on my own.
“Breathe, My Queen, you are safe. The Lost King cannot harm you here with your guardians at your back. We will not let anything happen to you. Take a deep breath… good… now another,” Izel coached, his eyes never leaving mine, keeping me locked in the present with him.
“That’s a girl. Keep breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. ”
Once he saw I was more stable, he dropped his hands from my face, but I snatched up his hand, not wanting him to move from where it was. I wasn’t in the throes of panic anymore, but I wasn’t ready for his calming effect on me to be removed yet.
“Cassarah, I think it might help if you tell us what happened when you rescued Prince Gavin,” Izel suggested, giving my hand a comforting squeeze.
I nodded, licking my lips nervously. “It started when I woke up tied in the back of a wagon, not knowing where I was. My hands were tied to the top of the wagon where my two captors sat driving it. We were close to the Darsor River, and they were talking about how they had to lock me up someplace in Errit and hack off a piece of me to send back to the clans to prove they had me. At that time, I had no idea what was going on or who this mysterious Lost King was. All I knew was I had to get out of that wagon. Only Richard and the two men were there, so I had pretty good odds if I got my hands free. I tried to reach out to Vasin, but he was too far away, and I had to make sure I didn’t get caught doing it…
bastard told them I could reach out to Vasin with my thoughts.
Unbeknownst to me, I ended up reaching Tahir.
It was garbled, and I could only read emotions off him.
I thought I’d finally gotten to Vasin, and the distance was making it challenging.
When a red dragon breathing fire showed up causing chaos, I knew it wasn’t Vasin I was talking to. ”
The memory of the heat from that fire echoed through my brain as I took a moment before I continued.
“In the madness, my two captors bailed, the horse broke free, and the wagon was rolling right for the raging river. Up until six months ago, I didn’t know how to swim.
I’m still not very good at it, and with my hands tied, there was no way I would survive if I didn’t get out of the wagon.
So I kicked out the damaged sidewall and tossed myself out of the wagon, catching my leg on a shard of wood.
Everyone scattered, and Jade came to my rescue, not that I was very thankful or welcoming to him. ”
“Yeah, she thanked Tahir and ignored me until I started pressing her for information. The sweet queen you have all seen so far wasn’t the one I met, that’s for sure,” Jade grumbled, but he gave me a grin, letting me know there were no hard feelings.
“It was only because she tried to lie to me that I figured out the truth.”
“Oh, but when he learned who I really was, you should have seen him dropping to his knees, apologizing for being an ass.” I laughed.
“He filled me in on what happened in the two days I’d been missing and happened to mention the large camp of men in the woods he’d just crossed over to get to me.
I figured we better find out what that was about, and sure enough, we found the Lost King’s camp where Prince Gavin was being held.
The two of us, along with Tahir’s help, rescued Gavin, and I might have blown up all of their supplies. ”
“What little bird isn’t telling is that she fought with Lord Everett and won, not to mention that she handled every other person who tried to get in her way,” Jade interjected.
“I always knew you could be a badass, mouse!” Cole said, kicking his feet up on the table. “The Lost King won’t have a clue what hit him when we get this plan of yours going. I have no doubt it will be brilliant.”