Jade #2
His brows shot up at my less-than-caring tone.
“Seems that the warm, touching moment is over, and the prick is back, I see. Well, I was just going to say if you ever wanted to talk to someone who knows what it’s like to have your family want to see you dead, I’m around.
My twin thought he managed to kill me, and my father was an evil bastard who helped to create this monster we’re now trying to kill.
If you want to keep score, I might be winning. ”
I realized he was right. We had more in common than I ever would’ve guessed.
Being a spy for another kingdom put him in the same situation as me, helping those who were against the mercenaries.
I could imagine he also sees an area where he undermined what we are trying to do now, but at that point, no one knew anything about the Lost King.
“Thank you, Paxton,” I said, bowing my head. “You’re right. We have far more in common compared to the others.”
Paxton made a face and stood up. “Ugg, don’t go all soft on me… that’s not your thing. Don’t even think about trying to hug me. If you do, I’ll punch you right in the dick.”
“Thanks for clearing that up for me.” I laughed and slapped his back as I passed him, heading to grab my bag and load Tahir up for the trip.
Creisal was a coastal kingdom that was flat, lush, and green, scattered with farmlands rich with crops.
The flight over had been easy, yet boring as the landscape all blurred together.
I missed the mountains and forests that gave Sheca personality.
I was thankful that the air stayed warmer, knowing it was entering the winter months further mainland.
If the battle were going to be waged closer to Norden, we would need to consider that.
As we flew over the castle perched on the cliffs of the Caleden Sea, I observed the rest of the city sprawling out before it.
Red tiled roofs marked the city’s wealthy section if the size of the homes were anything to go by.
Further away from the castle, the homes became less opulent and simpler until they reached the wall.
Dividing the royal city from the rest of the countryside was a massive stone wall I imagined took years to build and gave protection against attack.
It also ensured that those not worthy enough to be in the city limits stayed out.
Like so many others, this city loved to make a clear distinction between the haves and the have-nots.
I hoped they treated all their people with the same respect if they were in need.
Knowing my little bird the way that I did, she would have no problem encouraging them to change their ways.
Many times, she’s talked about the future once this war is over and how she hopes her fellow allies will join with her to rebuild our great land.
Tonight, I planned on talking to her about what I told the others so we could openly discuss what areas I was involved in.
Paxton had already planned to locate his notebooks full of information and gather a few spies he trusted to talk with us.
The more we knew about the underbelly of this kingdom, the easier it would be to spot what the Lost King was using the queen for.
She still hasn’t completely recovered. There were many moments when she would forget words or events that happened while she was under the influence of the Lost King.
It reminded me of elders I’ve seen when their minds start to fade, and they lose a bit of who they once were.
King Thomas hoped that being home in her normal surroundings might settle and help her to remember things.
Since this kingdom wasn’t equipped to deal with as many dragons as we had, the landing took a little finagling, but we managed it in stages.
I’m sure the city’s people were all gawking up at the sky, watching us as we circled above, waiting for our turn to land.
Tahir let out a roar, spitting fire and showing off as he saw little kids running down the street pointing at him.
The children all clapped and jumped around excitedly at the performance.
Tahir landed in the courtyard, quickly tucking his wings to his side so he didn’t crash into Dayson and Hegg next to us.
Grabbing my bag, I tossed it over my shoulder and sent my dragon off to play, exploring the new city.
Cassarah instructed all our dragons to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.
Creisal was a large kingdom, and we needed a clear handle on what was happening within it.
“Trying to create your own fan club?” Dayson teased, shoving me with his shoulder. “I saw Tahir strutting his stuff.”
“Believe it or not, that dragon has a penchant for the dramatics. He loves the attention as much as I hate it, but he’s spent most of his life keeping us hidden. I don’t see the harm in him goofing off now,” I answered with a grin.
Dayson and I joined Cassarah where she was standing with Prince Phillip and Gavin, who’d flown together.
“Did you get a chance to say goodbye to your mother?” I heard Cassarah ask.
Phillip shook his head, sadness written all over his face. “She refused to talk to us. Instead, she just screamed about how we were turning her whole family against her, even her sister.”
Cassarah placed a hand on his arm, giving it a simple squeeze.
“I understand what it feels like to be rejected by the family we love. My parents decided it was more important to them to keep their title and riches than to save their lives. All we can do is accept their choices and know we did all we could.”
My anger when I found out that her mother all but spit in the messenger’s face at the offer roared in my veins once again. When she first told us, I had to leave the room before I said something I shouldn’t. They were still her parents, no matter how badly I wanted to beat some sense into them.
“Excuse me, Queen Cassarah?” an elderly gentleman approached. “I’m Jenkan, the palace steward. Would you allow me to escort you to your chambers?”
Cassarah looked over at us since Gavin, Dayson, and I were the only guardians with her. “Let’s have Gavin stay here while Day and I come with you,” I offered. “Then, once the others have landed, they can join us, but I don’t want you going anywhere without two of us.”
Jenkan seemed to take offense at this as he spluttered his indignation. “The queen is an honored guest here and an ally. What danger does she have from us?”
“That…” I said, poking the old man in the chest, “… is for me to worry about. Now, please lead the way so Her Majesty can settle in a little before dinner.”
Jenkan scowled as he brushed off his shirt like I’d left something behind with my touch.
When he turned to Cassarah, he bowed and gestured for her to follow him.
“Right this way. We’ve made sure to keep all the rooms close since you have so many in your party.
There is a room for a lady’s maid in your chamber so that she might attend to you more conveniently. ”
Dayson snorted and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Oh, Becka’s gonna love that. Now she can’t hide from what might go on at night.”
We both grinned and chuckled, but that stopped with the scolding look we got from Cassarah.
It seems we would need to tone things down while we were guests in this prudish castle.
I guess we couldn’t have that wild orgy wanted to suggest now that we’d all been with our queen.
It was clear to us that our woman had a veracious side to her that none of us saw coming, but damn, it would be fun to explore.