36 || A Dragons Egg
Every time the princess crossed paths with King Matthian, he found a way to further prove Clove was right. That he really was a mad king from ancient tales looking to claim more land for himself.
The closer they got to the guest chambers that Celnaer Castle housed, the slower Ilyana's pace became.
A Dragon's egg.
She couldn't wrap her mind around how such a thing existed, let alone how she was going to heal it.
The giant winged creatures were extinct.
They had vanished from the face of the world so long ago that some thought they were a mere myth.
Yet, the Fireborn King had one of their eggs in his possession.
With steady, focused breaths, Ilyana tried to push her magic through her body.
It didn't need to heal anything, it just needed to move and awaken from the petrified state it lay dormant in.
Her power seethed as it was forced to move, recoiling under the command and stealing the final strands of the princess's hope.
What would the king do if she couldn't heal it? Without her magic, her effort would be in vain. King Matthian was not the type of person to let something that he wanted — that he needed — go without a fight. What consequence would he have hidden up his sleeve underneath the armour he wore?
Letting her gaze drift across the hall, Ilyana tried to grab Clove's attention. As much as she hated it, the only thing she had left to fall back on was the captain. Clove had an idea of what the king was planning and she was there to protect her, but she had no idea what Ilyana was about to fail.
She wanted to warn her so she could plan accordingly, for an escape route or another way for them to come out unscathed, but there was no use in trying to talk. The Fireborn would only overhear them.
The captain met her gaze, a green mirage on desert sand holding her breath captive. An alluring trap that promised false hope. With only a few paces left until they reached Matthian's chambers, this was the only chance she had.
Ilyana silently shook her head, turned her stare towards the king and then down at her necklace. It was a futile attempt — those actions could mean anything — but still, she hoped her message would find its destination.
Clove's eyes narrowed as she tried to process what the princess meant, but they came to a stop outside of the Fireborn's rooms before she could signal anything further.
"After you, princess." Matthian opened his door and stood to the side to let her pass.
"Thank you." Ilyana dipped her head and stepped inside.
The king had been given standard guest chambers that every important visitor to the island received, however, even though it had been over a week since he arrived, it didn't look like it had been used at all.
Towels folded into the formation of a sun by servants were still laid out on the bed.
Suitcases packed with Matthian's belongings were stacked in the corner of the room, unopened, with the latches clinging to each other to hold themselves together.
Even the bed sheets themselves bore no wrinkles or signs of someone sleeping on them.
The Fireborn entered after the princess, leaving Clove to get the door for herself.
"Where is this Dragon egg?" Ilyana scanned the room once more. Amongst the crates of his luggage, she couldn't find anything like it.
"I don't just keep my prized possessions on display," he scoffed. Crouching beside the bed, he reached underneath and hauled a glass case out. He placed it on top of the mattress, squashing the towels under its weight.
Ribbed scales seemingly forged from fire coated its exterior, leaving stagnant flecks of embers embedded in its shell.
Yet, as she walked closer to get a better look, an iridescent turquoise shimmer settled over the egg.
No predator — even with the toughest teeth or the most honed claws — would be able to break through to get to the youngling inside.
"It's smaller than I imagined for a Dragon's egg," Ilyana mused aloud. The winged creatures were often compared to mountains in size, their wingspan casting a temporary night when they took flight. But the egg that Matthian possessed was no larger than a human head.
"Yes, well, whatever sickness is plaguing it hasn't done it any good." He crossed his arms in a defensive stance, his gaze not leaving the egg once.
The princess sat beside it and placed her hand on the glass. Even if her magic could sense its illness or injury, she wouldn't be able to do it through its protective case.
"Where did you get it?" Clove questioned, wandering further into the room. Her hand hadn't left the hilt of her sword since they entered.
"Let's say I earned it back in Vahan." Despite the silence he earned in response, he wouldn't provide anything more.
"What about this sickness? I need to know more to have the best chance of healing it."
King Matthian sat on the other side of the case, almost in defeat, and brushed a finger against it.
"Honestly, I don't know what the sickness is.
Only that this isn't right. The egg should be getting bigger.
It takes four years for a Dragon's egg to hatch, yet it's now been five and it's gotten smaller. Weaker."
"Was there anything that could have caused the change?
Outside factors?" She couldn't let him know that she had no idea what she was doing.
Ilyana had worked with all sorts of creatures and species with her power in the past — birds with broken wings, a cat with a bad cold — and her magic had been able to sense what was wrong on its own. That wasn't going to be the case now.
After Vivi had died in her arms again, she didn't have that sense anymore, nor the ability to heal. She needed all the information she could get if she was going to have even a sliver of hope of achieving this.
"Not that I'm aware of. There obviously isn't another Dragon to tend to it but-" Matthian stopped halfway, a train of thought swallowing his words.
"But what?" Clove prompted.
"My brother. He was the one taking care of this egg before he lost control of his magic." The Fireborn removed his hand from the glass so he could clench his fingers into a fist. "Have either of you really not seen him at all these past few days? It's like he disappeared."
After the captain shook her head, Ilyana replied. "We have not. I can have the rest of the castle guards questioned and I can have a kingdom search prepared for him, if you would like that," she offered.
"That might have to be the route I take. I had guards trailing him to track where he was going, but now there's no trace of him. The last I heard of him was in the Lost Abyss."
The princess's eyes widened at the mention of the city of low-lives.
If he was last seen there, a place crawling with criminals and miscreants alike, she had a bad feeling.
With the number of soldiers and guards who went there to deal with trouble-makers and never returned, it was likely Prince Damian had met the same fate.
That, or there was a chance the Necromancer's Curse had claimed his life too.
"I'll organise something for him as soon as we're finished here," Ilyana promised.
With a satisfied nod, Matthian reached for the latches on the glass case and flicked them open. He lifted the lid with wavering steadiness and placed it to the side. "That's enough chatter. Heal the egg."
Ilyana swallowed thickly. This was it. This was where her magic's disappearance would be outed. She made quick eye contact with Clove before she took a deep breath.
Holding out her hand, she tried to simply feel the egg first. Her power had a knack for racing towards injuries, bounding towards them with excitement to fix them, but her veins were still hollow and empty.
Ilyana leaned even closer and touched the shell.
The surface was smooth yet rough at the same time.
Each edge was ribbed with bump and speckled with flecks of untold magic.
She closed her eyes and tried to find something that could be wrong, but she came out empty again.
King Matthian's stare was liquid fire pooling at the base of her throat. It razed every inch of her body with burning expectations. If she didn't heal it, she had no doubt that real fire would emerge to play.
"Well, have you found anything?" he pressed, tapping his foot in a restless pattern.
"I'm trying to concentrate here." With a silent apology to her magic, she tried forcefully pulling it out of where it lay slumbering.
She gritted her teeth as pain seared her chest, as if her power was being ripped from her, and a tear slid down her cheek until she had to stop.
She had to open her eyes and shake her head.
"You can't heal it?" The temperature in the room rose, a new blanket of heat enveloping them.
"Princess Ilyana has been really exhausted from everything that's happened over the past week," Clove answered. "She hasn't had the chance to rest and maybe that's why." She stepped forward to stand in front of her.
Fire licked the Fireborn's arms as he stood to pace the room. The flames grew higher, burning the sleeves of his shirt to reveal more of the armour underneath. "What use is a Goddess-blessed healer when you can't even heal?"
Ilyana flinched. She knew he was saying it in anger, but she couldn't help but take the insult to heart.
"My magic hasn't been working properly since Viviana died a few days ago.
Either that has something to do with it, or it's the Necromancer's Curse.
It came back to me for a moment when General Genevere was caught by the curse, but now it's gone again. "
"So you need to see someone dying for it to work? That can be arranged." It was a promise that she knew he would follow through on.
"Don't even think about it," the captain warned. "Ilyana tried and that's all she promised you."
"If it is the Necromancer's Curse, we need to work on breaking it first. After that, I'll try and heal the egg again, I promise. One attempt won't suffice for a creature of ancient legend."
Despite the reassurance that the princess hadn't given up, the hunger for murder still didn't leave his glare.
"This ball is where Silas will be meeting with your father.
I'll personally be listening into their conversation to get as much information as I can.
I suggest you also try and find a way to join the conversation.
" He placed the glass lid back on top of the egg, hands shaking with fury, and flipped the latches closed.
"This ends here, or so help me, there will not be anything left of this castle. "