A Chat Between Queens
The flight to Hillney Lake was as uneventful as the landscape we flew over, with the mountains far behind us.
Not having had the chance to see my home country of Norden, it was interesting to see it firsthand instead of on a map.
The towns and villages we navigated around were not as large as I thought they were, showing me how small our kingdom truly was.
Vasin took point on our flight with Ifra and Tahir on either side, keeping a watchful eye out for anything that might want to attack us.
After the last few times I’d gone out, it seemed to be something I would have to worry about.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get over how amazing it is to fly on the back of a dragon,” Gavin commented, his mouth so close his lips brushed my ear.
Surprised by his words, I jerked, turning my head and causing him to kiss me on the cheek. Gavin leaned back from me instantly, giving me space as I froze, forgetting everything I was going to say.
“Cassarah, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that,” Gavin babbled as his hands fluttered, unsure if he was welcome to keep them around my waist.
Grabbing a hand, I pulled him back against me. “Don’t flail around like that. You’ll make the others think something’s wrong. They’re already irritated they couldn’t talk me out of only having the four of them with me.”
“Right, sorry… again,” Gavin mumbled, taking hold of my hips. “Do you know how much farther it is?”
“We are nearly there, and it seems that Queen Mary and her men have beaten us there. I count seven dragons like she said there would be.”
“Anything out in the distance like what we are doing?”
“No, our six dragons are the only ones for miles besides the seven we are meeting up with.”
“Good to know that she wasn’t lying to Jade.”
“From what I gathered from her dragon while I was in the roost, she is an honorable woman. I know you respect her, and I think she’s earned that from us after what she did when we first bonded.”
“It’s crazy to think I haven’t seen her since that day. When we came to rescue you, it was Gavin who greeted me, pretending to be just another palace steward.”
“Many things have changed, but some have stayed the same. Trust your instincts, Cass.”
“Vasin said we aren’t far,” I called back. “Seems your mother is already there as well.”
“That’s my mother, overly punctual.”
“I’m going to circle once before we land near them. We can’t take any chances that foot soldiers might be hidden about.”
I waved over at Jade, giving him the signal that we were going to circle, then did the same to Zan.
Making a wide berth around the rather huge lake, we didn’t spot anything to be concerned about.
We spotted where the queen and her men were settled on the wide-open beach with a canopy for us to sit under.
Vasin touched down a few feet away so as not to knock the structure over with the wind from his wings.
I took a few deep breaths as I undid the straps and waited for Gavin to slide off first. Once on the ground, he held out a hand to me, assisting as I slid down, landing on my good leg as much as possible.
“Are you all right with me walking you over, or would you prefer one of the guardians?” Gavin asked, his hands settling on my hips, keeping me steady on the shifting sand.
I gave him a soft smile. “Don’t you think it would make a nice scene to see us walking arm in arm like the friends we are? Your mother would have difficulty finding a way to say we held you against your will.”
“What if you are some witch who’s tricked me into compliance with your magic?” Gavin teased, tucking my arm around his. “Or I could be hypnotized and not even know what’s going on.”
“Lucky for us, your mother knows what my Birthright is, but I would love to see you pretend to be under my control. How good is your impersonation of a chicken?” I asked and burst out laughing when he decided to show me.
“Finally, I got you to laugh. Now, don’t worry about this so much. My mother isn’t all that scary. She’s irritatingly rational, like you in some ways,” Gavin shared, nudging my shoulder.
I gave him a look of mock horror. “Are you saying that I’m irritating?”
“No, hell no, far from it, actually. The quality is far more endearing from you than my mother.” Gavin winked.
Jade, Zan, Dayson, and Cole fell in behind us, decked out in their best uniforms and strapped with weapons.
It was comforting to know they were there for me, and I had no doubt they would be able to handle a fight of seven on four, not to mention that I was also armed this time around.
My leg might not be fully healed, but it was strong enough to do what I had to if the need arose.
As we got closer, Queen Mary rose and headed toward us, her face betraying just how much she’d missed her son.
“Go, greet your mother,” I insisted, shoving him forward as Cole came up to take his spot.
Gavin glanced back before he jogged the last few steps to his mother and swept her up into a tight hug.
It was a sight I’d never seen before from a mother, and I steeled myself from thinking about my mother.
She no longer had any place in my life, and I wouldn’t let her cloud this moment with her inability to show affection.
Cole squeezed my hand, pulling my attention away from the tender moment to look into his sapphire gaze.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“The tonic Izel made did wonders to clear up the hangover,” I answered, purposely ignoring what he really wanted to know. “What about you?”
“Little mouse, the only one who was drunk was you.”
My jaw fell as I thought about what happened last night, and I couldn’t help but glance over at Dayson. “You mean…”
Cole slowly nodded his head, grinning at me like a cat who got the cream.
“Lady Cassarah, it’s good to see you again,” Queen Mary called, bringing me back to reality. “I can’t thank you enough for bringing my son back to me alive. I thought we lost him once we got the ransom notice from Errit.”
“Mother, it’s Queen Cassarah now. She rules over all the clans,” Gavin corrected.
Queen Mary’s eyes widened slightly as she covered her mouth with a leather-gloved hand in surprise. “My apologies. I didn’t realize they still acknowledged the old ways of the black dragon. It’s been so many years since the last one was seen.”
“It’s quite all right. I’m still getting used to the title myself,” I said, brushing off the unintentional slight.
“Come sit. Your letter made it clear that this was urgent, and I still don’t know the whole story about what happened to Gavin,” the queen stated, waving us to follow her, keeping Gavin close to her side.
I took one last shaky breath while the queen’s back was to us before heading off after her.
“You’re gonna do just fine, little mouse. If you can stop a mob of angry dragons, then this is nothing to worry about,” Cole whispered as we ducked into the canopy.
Inside the light gauzy material was a table full of refreshments and three chairs ready and waiting for us.
Queen Mary settled into one and pulled Gavin down beside her, refusing to let go of her son’s hand.
Taking the last chair, Cole stood right behind me as Zan joined us, leaving Jade and Dayson outside watching the queen’s other five guards.
“Would you care for a drink or something to eat? I don’t know how far of a journey it is from where you’re staying,” Queen Mary offered.
“No, thank you, Your Majesty. I don’t mean this to sound rude, but we don’t have time for the social niceties of the court on this matter.
King Edward’s bastard son is on his way to Royal City with an army comprised of Errit and Utros soldiers under his command.
Henry has taken to calling himself the Lost King and wants the throne he believes he is entitled to, no matter who or what is in his way. ”
Queen Mary sat stunned, blinking at me as if trying to process everything I’d just told her. “Edward has another child?”
“I know this isn’t what you expected to hear,” I admitted, seeing how tightly she clutched Gavin’s hand.
“From what I know, this happened before you were married. The boy was born, but King Edward didn’t want to kill the baby, so he gave up the child to a family who couldn’t have any.
Henry ended up in Utros and is the adopted son of King Marquees Efrem.
The problem is Henry has a Birthright that allows him to control people’s minds. ”
“What?” Reaching out with her other hand, she grabbed Gavin’s shoulder. “Did he do something to you? Are you sure that you’re all right?”
“Yes, Mother, I’m fine. Henry didn’t want to make me his puppet since he needed me for my Birthright.
He would bring people into the tent he had me tied up in and forced me to get them to talk.
Once they confessed whatever they were keeping hidden, he would have them killed.
If Cassarah hadn’t come to rescue me, I don’t know what would have happened because this attack would have blindsided our country.
We owe Cassarah more than just our thanks, Mother. ”
Queen Mary turned back to me. “Tell me what you know. How much time do we have?”
“That is the information I need your help to gain,” I stated.
“I need all of your dragon riders to scour our kingdom and into Errit and Utros. I even suggest we keep an eye out in Creisal as well. Henry is smart, conniving, and manipulative… an extremely dangerous combination for a man with his powers. I will be sending out my own riders as well, but I only have a handful, and they won’t be able to get all the information we need. ”
“Where was the group you discovered?” she pressed, waving to one of her guards. “Bring me a map of the kingdom and clear the table.”
Swiftly, the guards did as she ordered, and soon, we stood shoulder to shoulder over the map. It wasn’t as detailed as ours, but I had studied it enough to easily point out the location.
“They were here along the Darsor River near the border of Utros. I did get confirmation from a scouting party that there was another mass movement of men coming from the south portion of the Restless Mountains,” I informed her, pointing out the spot Tinus and Bast had spoken of.
“I fear there are others in the north coming from Errit as well, and since we don’t have any large towns or villages up that way, it would be easy for them to wipe them out to keep their existence a secret. ”
Queen Mary looked up at me, studying my face. “I can see why he likes you. A mind as brilliant as yours is hard not to notice.”
I blushed under her praise, dropping my gaze back down to the map.
“How long ago did you discover this original encampment?” she asked, returning to the matter at hand.
“Today makes it five days ago,” I answered. “But I blew up all their supplies, so I’m hoping that has bought us some time to make sure they haven’t traveled far from that spot. My hope is that the second party is coming to join them and restock supplies since it’s coming from his father.”
“My, you certainly did try to think of everything, didn’t you?
” The queen chuckled. “So, we need to make sure we send the dragon riders more southeast to start with and another group to the northeast. If I know my sister, even with a Birthright to back Henry up, he couldn’t convince her to do anything.
She is as hardheaded as they come, but I will send a message to her, making her aware of the impending battle. ”
“Would she lend you help?” I hedged.
Queen Mary sighed and grabbed paper along with ink and a pen. “I honestly don’t know. If I were to ask her about something she would view as trivial, then absolutely not. Seeing as Norden could get wiped out, leaving them as the only kingdom left to conquer, it might get her attention. Curtis!”
Moments later, a burly man entered the tent. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“I need you to take this letter to my sister. She likes you, so I’m hoping she will actually read it before deciding to ignore what I have to say,” she explained as she sealed the letter and handed it to him.
“There can be no delay, and I need you to wait until you get an answer before you leave. Is that understood?”
“It will be done as you say, My Queen,” Curtis answered, taking the letter and bowing before he left.
“Curtis is one of my most trusted men. He will make sure it gets to my sister no matter what,” Queen Mary explained. “Now, we must return to Royal City so we can send out the dragon riders and stage the next part of the plan we come up with.”
I froze, unsure of what to say to that. “Um… I can’t return to the city. I must tell my people that we have your support and prepare for our part of the battle.”
“Cassarah, you might be their leader, but they are still subjects of my kingdom, as are you.”
“No, Mary, I am not your subject. When I took the role of queen, I renounced myself as your subject to rule over my people. The mercenaries have never been Norden’s subjects. We are people who hail from the land of Sheca where you have no ties to.”
“You dare to use my given name so commonly?” she snapped.
I turned, locking my gaze with her own. “I allowed one slight to my title, but I will not allow another. Either I am your equal in this, or I am your enemy. There is no other option.”