Chapter 37 – Sera
Chapter Thirty-Seven
SERA
“Time to go, princess,” Jade declares, grabbing a pack off the floor that Roman was kind enough to fill with provisions for travel before he and his brothers left.
I advised them to disappear for a while. Better Alex not know whose home he finds himself in.
“I had to knock him out again,” Jade explains. “We really don’t have time to waste.”
“Where are we going?” I ask, picking up the second pack. Leaving Alex behind again feels like the biggest betrayal. The fact that he can’t even stand to be near me . . . it hurts.
“It’s time to take down the queen.”
“Have you lost your godsdamned mind?” I swear.
Jade sighs, but her golden eyes blaze into me with a fierceness. “Here are the options: one, we flee, and your mate chases you throughout all of Lunesai until one of you is dead.”
I wince.
“Or two, we kill the queen to break the enchantment on him. From what I can tell, it is soul deep. He must have foolishly sworn himself to her. There’s no undoing his compulsion unless she chooses to release him or either of them die.”
“Well, shit.”
Jade motions for me to move, and I follow her out of the home.
I glance at the meal I left out, wishing I could do more.
Spying a loose leaf of paper, I rip off a piece and scribble a few words.
It’s not enough, but it’s all I have time for.
I follow Jade around the back of the home, and she leads me down a narrow path that would be almost invisible if one weren’t looking for it.
A thrill fills me at the thought of meeting her dragon.
Gods, I wish Alex could experience this with me.
“If it’s so easy to take down the queen, why haven’t you done something before now?” I grumble.
“War, for one,” Jade replies matter-of-factly. “Can’t just go murdering the rulers of other courts, especially when all the former rulers and heirs of said court are presumed dead.”
“I don’t understand why Gabriella hasn’t taken care of her, considering how horrible she is.”
“Trust me, Gabriella has her own issues right now,” Jade says. “It has always been the plan, but the right opportunity had yet to present itself.”
I shove some wayward strands of hair behind my ears. My skin is sticky with sweat as we push through more of the underbrush and trees that make this path harder to see, water droplets dripping from leaves and branches. Thank the Mother the rain stopped at least.
“Still waiting for your plan on how to kill the evil enchantress queen,” I quip.
Jade throws a vulgar gesture over her shoulder, and I snicker.
She’s almost become like a sister in the short time I’ve known her.
Her ability to make tense moments just a bit lighter are appreciated, loosening the vice around my chest and allowing me to breathe a little deeper.
I’m no good to anyone if I lose myself to crippling anxiety.
It’s just past midday when we enter a large clearing and the temperature rises even more. Before I can blink, a massive dragon shimmers into view. His scales are a shade of green that almost perfectly matches Jade’s hair, but there’s a gleam to them.
“Your dragon can turn invisible?” I ask in surprise.
Jade nods proudly, reaching to stroke his long, elegant snout. “Darius is quite powerful. Not all dragons can camouflage themselves like this.”
“Will the wards fall when we leave?” I ask. “Will Gianni and everyone be safe?”
“They won’t be in any more danger than usual. They’ve only been hidden since I’ve been here. My father insisted I find a place I could escape out of sight of the queen’s scrying if need be. It was one of the conditions for this mission.”
“I’m honestly surprised your family let you come here without more protection.”
Jade scoffs. “I can take care of myself. Besides, it’s not like I’m the heir to the throne. I have an older brother who is in line for that. I’m just a political pawn, ripe for an arranged marriage I’ll have no desire for. This was likely my last adventure, my last chance to prove myself.”
“I’m sorry. It can be incredibly hard carrying the weight of that kind of responsibility.”
“Not much I can do about it.” Jade continues stroking her dragon’s snout, a far off look in her eyes.
“I was supposed to marry the prince of the River Court. I overheard the impostor queen say he’s still unbound.”
“That’s unexpected,” Jade says, raising a brow.
“Do you think Gabriella will force me to uphold that arrangement if we make it out of this?”
“First of all, we will make it out of this. Second, there is no way Gabriella would force you to give up your mate for a political marriage. She’ll find another way to appease the oaths between your courts.”
While I logically knew that was true, it’s still nice to have someone say it out loud.
The dragon huffs, and steam pours out of his nostrils, almost like he’s annoyed with us for taking too long.
“May I?” I ask.
“If he doesn’t bite your hand off, you’re good,” Jade teases.
I suck in breath and hold out a hand in what I hope is a nonthreatening manner. “Hello, Darius. Pleasure to meet you,” I say, remembering what Jade calls him.
The dragon chuffs again and bumps his snout against my hand. I smile and gently run my palm over the scales. He’s rough and smooth at the same time. The fire in my blood can sense the fire in his and wants to come out to play.
“Darius says you can show off your fire skills later, but it’s time to go.” Jade laughs.
“Can he read my thoughts?” I ask with surprise.
“Not exactly,” Jade says. “Our rider bond allows us to speak directly mind to mind, but he is extremely intuitive and can pick up on intentions.”
“Fascinating,” I say.
The dragon stretches out its foreleg, and Jade makes quick work of climbing up and onto his back. “Do you need help?” Jade asks.
“I think I’ve got it,” I reply, steeling myself before running up his leg and scrambling to get behind Jade.
“That was so incredibly graceful,” Jade teases.
“Shut up.” I laugh.
“We only have so many hours of daylight, so we need to hurry,” Jade says, her face growing serious.
“Don’t remind me.” I glance at the two suns and mark their spot in the sky. At least the days are getting a little longer. “Why didn’t Darius stop Alex?” I ask.
Jade glances over her shoulder. “Oh, I’m having words with him. I think it’s because he smells like you.”
Worry for Alex floods my mind once again, even as visions of our chase through the woods play before my eyes. Whatever did I do to the gods to deserve such a fate?
Darius beats his mighty wings, and we quickly ascend into the sky.
“Won’t people see us coming?” I ask, my stomach lurching at the speed.
“Darius’ scales reflect the light and push it away from us, allowing us to become almost invisible in the sky,” Jade explains.
“Gods, I had no idea they flew this fast.” I gasp, holding on to Jade for dear life. At this speed, we’ll make it to the Emberwood Palace in no time.
She laughs brightly. “Perk of my air magic is I’m able to lend a hand. There is no one faster in all the realm.”
“Show-off.”
The forest grows smaller and smaller beneath us as we rise up above the clouds and the dragon glides on Jade’s air currents. I raise my arms out to the side and smile in delight at the freedom of flying so high. I almost feel guilty for enjoying myself.
Traveling by dragon is definitely more fun than I expected, especially seeing how different all the familiar landmarks appear from above through the breaks in the clouds.
My swan form cannot fly so high, and getting to experience my kingdom from this vantage is jaw-droppingly beautiful.
The treetops in their various shades of green blanket the expansive forest while the farmlands dot the landscape with pops of gold and amber.
This is my home, and it’s never looked more beautiful.
“What happened to you this week?” I call over the wind. “I’ve been worried sick waiting for you, and then Alex shows up as a hunter?”
Jade’s shoulders curl slightly. “I’m so sorry.
By the time I got back, it was too late to do anything, and then he disappeared.
The guards left the tower, and I didn’t know where they were holding him.
If I had any idea, I would have come to warn you sooner.
I’m lucky I overheard her bragging about her newest hunter when I did. ”
“It’s not your fault . . . but you’re right. We need to end her. How are we going to get close enough to strike?”
“This is the day she meets petitioners in the throne room. If you can find a way to keep her there, I will sneak into her chambers and destroy the mirror.”
“What will that do? Isn’t it just used for spying?”
Jade shakes her head. “It’s the way she’s been able to maintain control over the court, alongside her spying. It’s dark, powerful magic. My hope is it will break compulsions on her guards, including any who might have been loyal to your family.”
“Understood.”
“It’s best we attack as close to sunset as possible so she doesn’t expect you.”
“But if it’s too close to sunset, I could turn into a swan at the worst possible moment,” I lament.
“We’ll have to time it just right,” Jade says. “We’ll be fine. I hope.”
“So encouraging,” I mutter under my breath. “How do we know the queen isn’t scrying and viewing our location at this very moment?”
“Darius provides protection for now, but we will also have to pray for a little bit of luck. If she’s receiving her petitioners, she shouldn’t be near the mirror.”
We continue flying in comfortable silence until we get close enough to see the break in the trees where the palace grounds are.
“Are we close to the tunnel entrance you told me about?” Jade asks.
“I think so,” I reply, keeping an eye out for the grove we need. “No one below can see us?”
“They’d have to be trying really hard,” Jade assures me.
A few more minutes pass, and I tug on Jade’s arm. “We’re here. We can land in that small clearing.”
Jade snorts. “Unless you want us to announce our presence with a dragon crashing through the trees, we’re not landing.”
“Well how in the Mother’s name are we going to get down?”
“Trust me, princess.” Jade winks at me from over her shoulder, and my stomach flips with anxiety. I have a feeling I’m not going to like what happens next.
Jade jumps to her feet, her balance on top of the moving beast impeccable. She reaches a hand toward me, and I allow her to pull me up. “Hang on tight.”
“What the—”
Jade jumps off the back of her dragon, pulling me with her, and we’re in free fall.
The wind whips against my face, carrying my screams far away.
I might black out for a second, I’m not even sure, but we’re falling like stones, picking up speed as we careen toward our deaths, but no, she’s not trying to kill us, right?
Once we hit the treeline, our speed dramatically slows and we float the rest of the way. The second my feet hit the ground, I am keeled over, heaving whatever was in my stomach onto the forest floor.
Jade rubs my back in soothing circles. “There, there. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“What in the actual hells, Jade?” I hiss beneath my breath, grateful when she hands me a pouch filled with water. I sip at it, swishing before spitting it onto the forest floor.
“If I warned you, it would have been worse,” she says.
“Too late to find out if that’s true.” I grimace. Jade offers her hand, and I shakily rise from the ground.
“So is this the right place?”
It takes me a moment to orient myself, but I point to our left. “The tunnels should be this way, as long as they didn’t fill them.”
“Here’s hoping the evil queen has no knowledge of them,” Jade lifts her gaze to the sky, and I look up as well. The faintest shimmering outline of a dragon hovers high above us.
“Will he come get us if all hells break loose?” I ask.
“Of course,” Jade replies matter-of-factly. “He’s staying close.”
My eyes track the path of the suns, and I mentally calculate how much time we have. “We don’t need to run, but I don’t feel comfortable being out in the open.”
“Lead the way.”
We march for the grove, the only sound a flutter of wings and a rustle of leaves. We’re both on high alert in case any hunters are nearby. I really hope the queen didn’t change her schedule; that would be the worst possible luck. No longer hidden behind the wards, I feel exposed.
It’s been three hundred years, but I still know this forest like the back of my hand. There have been changes, yes, but at its heart, it’s the same.
When we finally get to the great tree, we stop for a quick drink of water and snack on some of the provisions Roman packed for us. My stomach is aching and hollow from emptying it after the flight, and the food gives me a little burst of energy.
“Have you had any luck making peace with your swan?” Jade asks, cutting a small slice off an apple and offering it to me.
“Not at all, and thanks,” I say, popping the juicy piece into my mouth. Gods, the fruit is so much better in this realm.
She furrows her brow. “I’m sorry. I really hoped it might work.”
“If anything, the swan has been wresting more control.”
“Once this is over, we’ll find an answer.”
I take a deep breath, trying not to let the hopelessness and fear of what we’re about to face overwhelm me. “I can’t think about this right now. Let’s just focus on the plan.”
“Agreed.”
We pack our supplies back up, and I dust my hands off on my pants before feeling for the trigger to the door.
“Here’s hoping the wards remember me,” I say with a weak grin. The entrance to the passages was warded specifically to my family, but I’m not sure if anything happened to them after my parents died. If anyone knew about them and told the queen, this entire plan could go up in smoke.
The tiniest prick from a thorn, and the tree groans to life, an opening barely big enough for one to slip through revealing itself.
“Brilliant,” Jade says.
“Step one, complete.”