Hidden Enemies
Icouldn’t be more thankful to be out of the peaks and on the last leg of the trip into the valley.
The weather turned warmer, and I could finally shed my thick cloak and let the sun warm my face and thaw out the rest of me.
We’d decided to break for lunch to give the horses a rest with the downhill work they were doing as we zig-zagged over the terrain.
Vasin and the other of my men with dragons went ahead to Sheca to let everyone know we were almost there.
While we rested, Helena came to join me, reminding me that she’d asked to speak with me today, piquing my curiosity.
“It will be good to be someplace we can finally settle into. It’s been many years since I’ve spent my days on horseback, and my rump is reminding me of the good old days,” Helena said with a chuckle.
“I couldn’t agree more. Even though I’d been training, I don’t think I was ready for this long journey, either,” I shared, tearing off a chunk of dried meat to chew on. “I also wouldn’t mind having something else to eat. Three days of leather is about all I can manage.”
We fell into a simple silence. I could tell she was on the verge of telling me what she wanted to talk about but was searching for the right way to start.
Shifting so I was facing her, I reached out and took her hand in mine, causing her to look at me.
“Helena, whatever it is, you can tell me. You and Ballard have been nothing but kind and welcoming to me since I arrived. If there is something I can do to help, I will.”
“Bless you, child, but I’m not worried about me. It’s you I’m worried about,” she said, patting my hand. “The other clan leaders don’t agree with this plan of combining our groups, and I fear they are going to cause trouble.”
I knew they weren’t fans of the idea, but the fact she was worried enough to bring it up caught me by surprise. “Helena, what do you know?”
“Strictly speaking, I don’t know anything because it is forbidden for my husband to tell me what happens between clan leaders.
” She paused and looked around as if to make sure we weren’t being overheard.
“Although the other night, Ballard might have been talking in his sleep and mentioned something about finding a way to keep you from becoming queen. They know that he supports you. They have been leaving him out of the loop on a fair amount of things, but he did catch part of a conversation they were having with the Norden king and queen about how it might be better for them to ally with someone other than the child who was ruling at the moment.”
“Are the rest of the leaders in agreement on this choice?” I asked, fear sitting in my stomach like a rock.
“That’s something I don’t know and haven’t been able to glean from other sources.
But I can tell you that Acton is not voicing an opinion either way.
He keeps his thoughts to himself for the most part, where Xio, Garold, and Porvan have always been more vocal.
No matter what the vote was, no one ever knew which way he would lean until he gave his official vote.
From what I know about Acton, he doesn’t rush into his choice and gives people a fair chance to prove themselves,” she explained, watching my expression closely.
“My biggest fear is that they won’t follow the rules and will make a deal without taking it through the proper channels.
Things are tense with the king and queen when it comes to you.
I heard about how you handled things with them before we all left, and that did not go over well with them. ”
Reaching out, I pulled Helena into a hug.
“Thank you for coming to me about this, but for your own safety, I need you to stay out of it. Now that I have the information and know to be on the lookout, I’ll take it from here.
You and Ballard have given so much to these people, and I know you want the best for them as do I. ”
“Cassarah, you remind me so much of my daughter, Cole’s mother, and I don’t think I could bear losing you like we did her,” Helena shared, pulling back to cup my face in her hands.
“Promise me you will be safe and don’t trust anyone but your guardians and Gavin.
Not even me or Ballard when it comes to the clan leaders.
They have remained in power for as long as they have for a reason, but once they view you as a threat, nothing will stop them. ”
“I won’t let them take this from me. I’ve fought too hard to get where I am to have it stripped from me so easily,” I told her, my voice firm with resolve. “I am the Dragon Queen, and they will come to respect that.”
Moving on to lighter topics, I shared with her what I knew about Sheca and the people I’d met so far until Cole came up to us. “Sorry to be the one to cut in on girl time, but if we want to make it there with any light left, Zan said we should be heading out.”
“That’s a fair call. This break took longer than I planned,” I agreed, holding out a hand for him to help me up.
His hand wrapped around mine, but I should have been prepared when I saw the glint of mischief in his eyes.
Tugging on my hand with far more strength than he needed to, I stumbled right into his chest with a squeak as he closed his arms around me so I didn’t bounce off him.
“Would you look at that. It seems I caught myself a little mouse. You know it’s getting rather hard to do that these days. ”
“Don’t tease her, dear boy, or you’ll end up at the end of the list when she wants to spend alone time with someone,” Helena teased, patting him on the back as she headed off.
Ignoring his grandmother, he kept his attention on me. “What did she want? Looks like you had quite the conversation when she first sat down with you.”
“How would you know that? Were you stalking me?” I gasped over dramatically.
“Mouse, you should know by now that even when you think you’re alone, we always have eyes on you. What kind of guardians would we be if we left you unprotected?” Cole pointed out.
After what Helena just told me, I was more grateful for this than they realized. “We can’t talk here, but tonight we all need to gather so I can share what your grandmother shared with me,” I whispered.
“Are you in danger?” Cole demanded, his body going rigid.
“I have a feeling that I’ll always be in danger, Cole, but I don’t think this danger will act in the next day or two,” I answered, letting my head fall to rest on his chest. “Let’s just pray we can get to Sheca in one piece so we can deal with the rest of the problems we have going on around us.”
Cole tightened his hold and wrapped his body around mine as if he could infuse me with his strength.
It was exactly what I needed at that moment, giving me the courage not to be okay for a moment as I gripped his shirt in my hands like a lifeline.
“You sure you want to take on more of this craziness by becoming one of my consorts?”
“No place I’d rather be than guarding your back and keeping the crazy at bay.
Not that your front isn’t nice too, but it’s not as romantic to say.
” Cole smirked as he pulled me back, bent his head, and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
When he pulled away, I chased after him, wanting more.
This caused him to chuckle. “Sorry, little mouse, but we have to keep it proper for the prying eyes around us and the fact we laid into Paxton about being respectful.”
Sighing, I pouted a moment then stepped out of his arms. “You lot are going to need to deal with that situation. I can’t have you fighting among yourselves.”
“I agree. Discord between us makes us weak, but we’ll get it figured out soon enough. I promise,” Cole said with resolve. “Come on, Your Highness. Let’s get you to your new kingdom so we can finally get a bed to sleep in tonight.”
This caused me to laugh which was the goal, lightening my worry as we all mounted up and continued on our way to our new home.
We made excellent time with everyone—man and animal—refreshed from our long break and the ground leveling out, becoming softer under foot.
The sky was clear, and even as the sun was waning, the air was warm, giving us a boost as well.
The dragons above started to dart about, playing in the air currents, making me smile as I could feel Vasin’s joy at having other dragons around.
They were a creature of community, and even though he was my pair-bond, I couldn’t give him the connection the others of his kind could.
Zan had flown ahead but came back, only this time he was on horseback, wearing a wide grin as he rode alongside me.
The entrance to the valley, in true mercenary fashion, wasn’t one you could spot easily, so having him navigate made it much easier.
Working our way through the tight zig-zag pass of the final mountain ridge that guarded the valley from sight, I couldn’t help but gasp at the sight before us.
Seeing it from the air was stunning, but there was something about viewing it from eye level that showed the true vastness of the land before my very eyes.
Everything was so green, and the earth under our horses’ hooves smelled so rich and fresh that it astounded me this could have been kept a secret for so long.
The wide dirt road led us into the village where everyone was out, lining the path, waving and shouting their greetings.
It would seem that what the viceroys had shared about most people being excited about finding the Dragon Queen was true.
Flower petals rained down from the rooftops where kids tossed them from windows, trying to get a better vantage point for our procession.
As if she knew what was going on, Inali started to prance under me, tossing her head so her mane blew in the wind like a conqueror returning from war.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I waved to all the people we passed until we paused at the end of the village right before the road took us to the castle.