Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Kallias
There were no windows in my bedchamber, a tactical choice for me and Greaves to sleep undisturbed—but a travesty for Nienna.
In Draconia, I had woken to sunlight spilling over her pale skin, setting soft waves ablaze.
I craved the way the morning sun pried her from the dark embrace of dreams, dragging her into the waking world.
My own sleep offered nothing—no nightmares to haunt me, no fragile hopes waiting to be crushed at dawn. Just a glorious blank, my body exhausted and recouping from the past few relentless days.
Greaves groaned, flopping an arm over his face.
The sound cut off abruptly, and I smiled.
He remembered we weren’t alone. It would take time for him to grow comfortable with her, but there would always be a guard between them.
He hadn’t spent his life near her as he had with me; that kind of familiarity took patience.
Nienna’s breath caught, fingers twitching. She was awake.
The sun had likely just risen. Whispers and soft footfalls drifted from the receiving room, the servants signaling their presence—and the need for me to rise.
“It’s time to wake.” I brushed hair from her face.
She frowned, then a sly curve twisted her lips into a wicked smile. Her hand slid down my chest, and she arched against me, pressing her warmth into mine.
I caught her before her touch could wander too far. “No time for that this morning.”
Her eyes snapped open, sleep lingering at the corners. She grabbed the sheet and twisted to face Greaves’ bed.
The man was already rising, a light tunic thrown over his chest. With his habitual movements, features slack with rest, he gathered clothes and armor, scratching at mussed hair before stepping out—to check the staff, no doubt.
“What’s your first task?” she asked, flopping back to curl against me.
I sighed, dreading the meetings and paperwork. “I’m to meet with all the noblemen—verify their loyalty.”
“The mayors and merchants?”
“Anyone overseeing a province or staff,” I clarified. “They’ll swear fealty to me—and to you.”
“Ah. So I shall be attending?”
“The choice is yours. It would be proper for you to be there. Perhaps you could drag them into the courtyard, threaten them with your brother’s beast.”
“Dragons don’t actually enjoy human flesh.”
“I’m fairly certain I saw one eat a man while we fought for Reem.”
“That’s bound to happen in the heat of battle,” she huffed. “You can’t blame them for that.”
I chuckled, shaking my head. “Radaanians are unaware of their acquired tastes. By right, you should assert yourself over them.”
“And the other task?”
I pursed my lips, thumb brushing along her waist. “You did well with the heirs yesterday.”
She shifted, hair sliding across my chest as she peered up at me.
“Their parents and guardians have been summoned, an opportunity to pledge allegiance and reclaim their children. In the meantime, it would do them good to be assured that they are safe once again. And you have a vested interest in securing the trust of the next generation.”
Her grin spread, writing her decision into her features. “I was thinking your horses need to get used to dragons. Let me have a field or two. I’ll take them on a picnic, keep them grounded—the horses will grow accustomed to the creatures.”
Caution stabbed my heart. “I’d prefer you inside the palace for now.”
“I’ll be surrounded by dragons.” Her voice dropped, quiet, aware of why I worried. “There’s no safer place for me.”
I traced the bandage running down her neck. “You had a powerful rider at your back, and still this happened.”
“We were trying to negotiate.” She deadpanned. “If a Velli comes near me now, I won’t give them time to speak before they’re roasted like a pig on a spit.”
I drew a long breath, letting it out in a hiss. She was Draconis. No cage could hold her, no matter how badly I wanted one. Palace walls offered security—but how much more? Endless fields, dragons at her side, her brother nearby… wouldn’t that be safer?
“I am not a Radaanian queen, Kallias.” Her palm pressed to my cheek, heat seeping into me. “I belong to the sky and open air. Don’t allow your fear to lock me away.”
She didn’t have to persuade me. She might be my greatest treasure, the one thing I’d risk life and kingdom for—but I couldn’t stifle her.
“I doubt I could cage you if I tried.” I turned, kissed her hand, then rose. “You’ve delayed getting up long enough.”
Her laugh spilled free, light and unrestrained. It warmed something deep inside me. Mountains of tasks awaited, and not all would be easy. We wrested my kingdom back from Tallon, yet that laugh bore no burden. Only joy.
This private space between us—Kallias and Nienna, husband and wife—was worth every risk.
I swung my legs over the bedside and leaned forward, stretching tight muscles. Bones complained. Joints groaned. I clenched my teeth and pressed, forcing the tension to yield. A twist of my torso followed, sharp pops echoing through my spine.
“Tonight there shall be a formal dinner.” I grabbed a tunic before her handmaid arrived. “Tensions will be high. Depending on the noblemen today, there may be executions tomorrow.”
The words chafed my soul. Some had never fully accepted me—not with the war we’d fought for so long. Others despised my stand against the Velli. But none would’ve dared act without Tallon’s encouragement.
And now they would suffer the consequences.
“When will we bury Darius?”
I braced against the vanity, watching the water basin’s surface ripple.
Darius.
Clay.
My friends.
“We’re still clearing Reem.” The words lodged in my throat, my defenses slow to rise in her presence. My vulnerability leaked through, unshielded. “Fallione will organize it for tomorrow. We’ll bury them all and honor him.”
Her chest pressed into my back, an arm snaking around me. “I’m sorry for your loss. He was a good man.”
“Yes, he was. Stubborn old man,” I scoffed. “But a solid friend.”
Cold water stung my hands. I splashed my face and dragged a cloth across my skin, pushing the grief down where it belonged. I would mourn him later, when time allowed.
“Clay isn’t here.”
She stiffened, fingers clutching the sheet around her shoulders. “Fyrn?”
“Also missing.” I faced her, voice low. “Along with a list of soldiers. Fallione is compiling it, but Tallon is at work elsewhere.”
“Then we’ll hunt him.” Fire laced her words. “My dragons–”
I tilted her head, thumb brushing the bandage on her skin. “No. As much as I want to, Radaan needs me. Tonight, we watch the nobles and servants. We’ve secured the kingdom. Whatever Tallon plans, we can withstand it. As you said, we have your dragons.”
“About that…” Her brow furrowed. “I had a question about your blessing. The light.”
“The beasts sever my connection to Elohios.”
Her eyes snapped to mine, confusion sparking in dark depths.
“I felt it first in the Spire,” I said. “His presence brushed against me, faint. Like reaching for something, only to touch air.”
Her gaze dropped to my chest. Nostrils flared. Shoulders slumped. She blamed herself, her power clashing with mine.
I lifted her chin. “Imagine one man blessed by the gods, commanding beasts of the sky. That much power would consume anyone. This balance… it’s better this way.”
“And do you think your god punishes you for my sake?” Her teeth bit her lip as the door creaked open.
“Some might. But he answered my prayer in the Spire.” I smiled, certain and soft. “I have no regrets. Your dragons shall rule the sky. And I’ll rule from the ground where I belong.”
Freya stood in the doorway, hands clasped, gaze lowered.
“The next few days will test us.” I leaned close, lips brushing hers. “Endure them, my queen. It’s time to be tried in the furnace.”
Her mind still lingered elsewhere, caught on the revelation of our differing powers. Passion, normally immediate and fierce, had become an afterthought.
I studied her bandages. “See the healer. I won’t have Tallon leaving marks on my wife.”
She smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “When are you going to worship?”
The certainty in her tone—not if, only when—sent warmth through me.
“After the meeting with the nobles. I’ll need prayer afterward.”
“Perhaps I should visit the Veridis’ temple.” Her voice trembled with uncertainty.
Did she wonder if I’d welcome her?
“I think the goddess would appreciate that.”
This time, pleasure sparked in her eyes. She might trust the beasts of the sky, but she respected Radaan’s gods—a detail that mattered for the people, and for her.
Yes. Nienna was a fine queen.
Fallione scribbled across his papers, assembling lists for me. I would need to share them with Nienna. The thought still felt strange, but if my days were ruled by obligations, she deserved to know them—perhaps even shoulder some herself.
I had never shared this burden before.
“The majority of the nobles are loyal,” Fallione said, quill scratching as I scanned the names of those who vanished alongside Tallon.
That many men couldn’t just disappear.
“Majority?” I echoed, turning a page.
He stacked his papers, frowned, then added more notes, smearing wet ink across his hand. “I fear two may cause a scene.”
My gaze lifted to him, then slid to Greaves at my side. “Verad’gog.” His name was absent from the list.
“And Bac’phares.” Fallione nodded. “Bac will fold under pressure, as he always does. Verad, however, fashions himself a martyr.”
“High opinion,” Greaves muttered.
“I’ve heard how he speaks to the others,” the advisor continued. “He’s aligned himself with Tallon without raising a fist. Uses words instead. Subtle ones. He undermines you. Sows discord.”
I’d seen Verad with Tallon too often to dismiss it. Yet he hadn’t fled with him. Why remain, knowing my court would never turn against me? He’d end up becoming a martyr as he wished—all for a hopeless cause.
“That’s his aim,” I said, pieces locking together. “He’ll blame Nienna.”
Fallione squinted, confusion tightening his features.
“He knows. Gods, Tallon is deceptive.” Unease settled low in my gut. “He had him stay. Verad will provoke me, force my hand. When I move against him, he’ll claim I’ve changed, that my queen has warped me into someone else. He wants to use my anger to incite fear among my people.”
Greaves let out a long sigh. “So the bastard left behind the one man most willing to put his life on the line.”
Tallon was no fool. Neither was Egath.
“And he shall die for it.” My jaw clenched tight as I met Fallione’s stare. “If he refuses fealty, I will take his head before the entire court.”
“Prune the tree before rot spreads,” he agreed. “Still, Radaan needs assurance that you remain unchanged.”
“I called on Elohios during battle.” I reclined in my seat, fingers drumming along the table.
“Witnessed by soldiers alone. Tallon ensured you stayed distant, unseen by the city. I advise a public display of Nienna’s loyalty to our gods, her submission to their blessing.”
If only they knew about the Celebration of Life. It wasn’t as if we could summon a mammoth on command.
Fallione nodded once. “I propose a Radaanian wedding—”
Greaves slowly turned toward him, his skepticism evident.
Draconis vows already bound us—she wore the mantle. That should’ve been enough. Yet such a ceremony would allow the people to see her, to know her. She prepared for this once before, under Tallon’s hand. She knew the steps, the protocol.
“—In the old ways.”
I frowned. “Not as I wed Eldeiade.”
“Predating your grandparents.” He dipped his quill into the inkpot. “One hundred seventy years back. Perhaps one-eighty. Records mention a rite when a king took a queen and proved the gods’ favor.”
Apprehension gnawed at the fraying edges of my sanity. She was the Dragon’s Heart. If this demanded divine blessing, I couldn’t be sure they would answer.
“She could call on Veridis,” Fallione said. “But the blessing would come through you. Afterward, no one could claim she cursed you. No voice would dare challenge it.”
I had no doubt that she would try. Nienna would give anything to see Radaan’s peace restored.
She would do anything for me.
That thought speared my heart. The question wasn’t if she would—but whether I had the right to ask it of her. Everything I did was meant to lift her in my people’s eyes. If I fell, she could rule by dragonfire alone. Still, I wanted them to love her as they once loved me.
“Bring me the details,” I said. “I won’t decide without seeing it on paper.”
“Of course.” Fallione gathered his things. “I’ll ensure the nobles are assembled. Send for me if needed.”
Greaves’ knee struck mine as the advisor departed. When the door closed, he turned, his discipline slipping. “You’re not going after Tallon.” Accusation edged his voice.
“I will.” I dipped my chin, reading the fury he kept leashed.
“He’s plotting, laying a trap. And you’re choosing not to pursue him.”
My stare hardened. “Radaan must settle first.”
He shook his head, words forming, then dying. “Tallon is fleeing, Kal. You should go after him.”
“You think I don’t want to?” I leaned forward, teeth bared. “I want nothing more than to gut the man who carved open my wife and poisoned my people. Ten years ago, I would’ve chased him without pause. But I refuse to abandon my kingdom to chaos.”
Pain flickered across his face. “He went too far. His mind mirrors his mother’s.”
“After the wedding, I’ll search for Clay and the others. When Reem is restored–”
He hissed, jerking away. “That’s it. Radaan will never see peace until he’s brought down.”
“What would you have me do?” My palms struck the table. “Nienna is wounded. I’m exhausted. A thousand demands claw at me, and for the first time, I have love worth protecting. If I charge after Tallon blind—and die for it—I leave her with ruin.”
He bowed his head, hiding his eyes from me. I hated the distance between us. We disagreed before, but this cut deeper. I wanted to put a spear through Egath’s chest, let Nienna’s dragons roast the bastard for his treachery. But there was too much at stake. Order and sequence mattered.
I had to find a balance between being a man and a king.
“I understand.” The words fell to the table like stones—flat and final.
“There will be blood today.” I shoved my chair back and stood. “We’ve spilled enough for a lifetime, Greaves. But this isn’t finished.”
We deserved rest—earned it.
Still, the world demanded more.