Chapter 58
Auren
So this general thought he could hide all the human knowledge away from me? My wings ruffled as I made for the exit of my den. He still operated as if he had absolute control over Nevermere’s dragons. The man was about to find out how limited his power was.
We can melt the stones around this male’s den, Slate growled, stalking closer.
Smash the windows, ‘Fang added.
Then pull this little man free and force him to bend a knee to our queen, Argent finished.
I liked this plan. Springing into action rather than sitting around, waiting for the humans to stumble upon what we needed.
I should’ve had this human in my claws and dangled him off the side of the keep the moment he dared to declare I must be mated ‘for the sake of the corp.’ We would rectify that mistake now by—
And the other humans? We all turned to see Viridian had joined us.
We don’t know if they are also part of this plan to prevent you from learning more about the ancient queens.
If you damage the structure of the keep, who knows who else could be hurt?
His claws flexed reflexively. Lance is inside.
Slate’s throat began to rattle. So are your riders, along with Fern.
We will get our riders out of there first, I said. Then make clear all the other humans must leave the place, lest they be crushed by the rubble.
And what then? I should’ve heard his wings beating, noticed that my father had arrived. He landed on the lip of my den, then walked inside. If you reduce the keep to stones, then what, daughter?
I will access these books, I said, my head snaking low. My human will read them—
Before or after they are torn apart by the collapse of the building? he asked. Humans store their knowledge on paper, which is frighteningly easy to burn up, destroy. You will do the general’s work for him, ensuring that you and no other dragon ever discover what those books contain.
So what do you propose, Father? I asked, stalking closer. This is an outrage and you know it.
The general is doing what humans always do when they feel weakened, he said with a sigh. Knowledge is power, and the man is grabbing what he can to try to strengthen his position.
Because he fears me, I shot back.
Because he fears you. My father settled down on his haunches, his wings folding tight against his back. What you and your sisters represent. Your mother died bringing a whole new generation of queens into this world.
Not that, I thought, my head whipping back and forth. Not that again.
Those deep bronze eyes met mine, and hadn’t I stared into them so many times over the years?
When I was just a dragonling, no other beast seemed as large, as powerful as my father.
Perhaps that’s why I stopped still now, unable to understand his mood.
Defeat, that’s what it felt like, but how could that be true of the great Hadrian?
But she wasn’t able to live long enough to protect your place in it. Your mother and I, we knew what this would mean. Humans in Nevermere have used our protective instincts to ensure the country remains free of the tyranny of the mainlanders, but how do they do that without dragons?
His head lowered down onto his claws.
The human king is ostensibly the most important human in the country.
The prime minister takes care of the day-to-day running of it for him.
But all of that is possible, because their armed forces support both institutions.
The human army is led by the general of the dragon corp and the Royal Riders… ?
I knew what was coming next, because he’d already made sure to teach me this lesson.
They are nothing more than infantry without dragons. When the most powerful weapon a human has is a dragon, how is he to get more?
From me, I ground out. From Lumina and all of my sisters, just like he did Zafira.
I looked up as a terrible thought occurred to me.
That’s what this is about. He was perfectly happy when the human queen kept the dragon queen controlled.
That’s why he works so hard to keep me away from the silver dragons.
Silver mates with gold, Slate said, and for once this didn’t rattle my scales.
And produces white-gold queens, I finished for him.
What?
Never before had I seen my father surprised, but I caught the moment when he sprang to his feet, staring intently at me.
Drathnor left us a message in a Tanis egg.
It felt like my thoughts echoed around in my head as I communicated with him.
That she was the last of the white-gold queens and that someone had attacked her.
She told her sons that… I glanced over at the silver dragons, then forced myself to focus on Father. They were to mate with a gold queen.
The white-gold queens died many hundreds of years before I was born, he said. Who knows if any lurk still on the continent, but I know none have come back here.
But if they were born? My head jerked up, looking past my father and out onto the sky beyond. Fierce females that will never be contained.
I knew then what this general feared. That puny human thought he could control me, but I was the daughter of Cynane.
My mother fought a war with his kind and lost her eye, then her life many years later, to bring me into this world.
The ghost of her that I saw in the tomb.
It was as if she was in this den as well, and I liked to think she looked at me with pride.
My daughters will never be brought to heel, I told my father.
They will never be required to lift their tail on command, breeding the humans more soldiers.
Soldiers, dragons alike fear what would happen if a white-gold queen flies the skies again.
They should. Out the corner of my eye, I saw each of the males draw closer.
Mother died to bring more queens into the world to save the species.
Well, I will live to ensure that dragon queens… No, all females, remain free.
Pushing past my father, I threw myself into the air, not able to take a full breath until I was alight.
Over and over again, I beat my wings, climbing higher and higher into the sky.
Viridian caught up with me first, looking over as he positioned himself just off to my right.
‘Fang took my left side seconds later, Slate flying above me, casting me in his shadow.
Argent followed just below, a buffer between me and the earth.
Where to now, my queen? Slate asked. Where you go, so do we.
Away, that’s what I wanted to snap. Wyrmpeak grew smaller and smaller beneath us, making all of its petty concerns seem utterly ridiculous. Of course, that was the moment when I felt someone else touch minds with me.
Auren? Fern was a rope, tugging me back down, forcing my right wing to tilt as I began my descent. Dear heart, we’ve discovered some information that might help.
I already knew what she had to say. Viridian had conveyed what his rider saw to each one of my wing, so that wasn’t what had me swooping back into my den.
No, it was Fern. The fact her face was abnormally pale as she rushed towards me, then the feeling that bloomed in my chest as she threw her arms around my neck.
When I found Fern, she was suffering at the hands of cruel males and expected to accept this. I’d sworn I’d ensure she never had to deal with that again, and that promise stood. My head came down, resting my chin on her back.
I promised you lands of our own, I told her.
A house by a lake?
When she pulled back to look up at me, her cheeks had gained back some of their colour.
Or by the sea. It does not matter to me, I said. Just that we no longer remain here.
We are leaving the keep? she asked. But the law—
If the general wants to send his corp dragons after me. My muzzle peeled back from my fangs as my throat began to rattle. I will treat that as an act of aggression and respond accordingly.
With us by your side. The male dragons drew closer, and for once, their attentions were not oppressive, but almost… welcome. Not a flame, nor bolt of lightning will touch a scale on your body while we still live.
The general feared the silver dragons for their destructive power. Well, his attempts to meddle ensured that exactly that power would be used against him.
Pack your bags, I told Fern with a small nudge of my head. We will leave early in the morning, while the keep sleeps. I am not afraid to fight to get free of here, but I’d prefer not to when you are on my back.
Or to hurt my fellow dragons. The corp’s beasts were like the sheep and cattle the humans raised to feed us. Born for a task, they were kept at it until they died. That didn’t mean they had to die at my claws or my wing’s.
Bring whatever you need, I told Fern. I don’t know when we’ll be near a human settlement next. Come back when the moon is high in the sky and then we’ll leave this place.
When the moon is full, she agreed, then pulled away.