10
Sagan
“We’re going to work on cloaking, but what do you want to learn?” Belinda asked me.
My response was instant. “A new glamour. How to change into whoever I want even. When we were being tailed at the summer market, I should have changed into Myriam and handled it instead of her. It turned out fine, but—there are dragons who can kill her with a punch.”
I flinched when I saw movement and realized Benson had set autopilot on and was out of his seat but was silent because of Belinda’s magic. We both gave him a look to stuff it, and after a moment he chuffed and went back to the cockpit.
Yeah, I bet he had a lot to say learning I’d been tailed… And I would still hear about that later, but right then he could just be quiet.
“Excellent priority,” Belinda praised. “Okay, that does tap into the same kind of magic as cloaking, so we’ll have to limit the exercises to not drain you. Be patient, Eloise. I will make you a priority. I’ve been working hard so you get more attention as Iris is getting to fly.”
I had no idea what that meant, but all three of us were in because even if Iris wasn’t involved, she enjoyed fun just as Eloise enjoyed the flying Iris got to do.
The magic was intense to use, but I picked up how to do it fast. That impressed both the ancients as almost instantly I could cloak my thumb when Belinda walked me through how to do it. But it took me almost an hour of the flight to get my whole hand, not just a finger or two.
Yes, there were lots of breaks, but… We were rusty. Very rusty using magic or “playing” as Eloise called it. We just used the one glamour basically and that was about it.
And that was horrible for her. Iris reminded me that she didn’t get to walk around burning things and making fire was fun for her too. That they knew I did my best and even mystic dragons who were out like Belinda didn’t do magic all day.
That did help, especially when they reminded me that I was young still. A lot of mystic dragons nowadays didn’t get much training at all. Most dragons, no matter their type, didn’t train past the basics and just for control.
It was honestly pretty sad when we had so much potential.
Sad and lazy really.
Belinda switched, and by the time we reached the Gurren’s estate, I could change my hair to exactly like Myriam, Treena, and Velle’s. While looking like Sagan or Eloise’s persona. It just took focus, which I wasn’t used to, and I knew would become easier with time.
It just gave me something to practice when I was on my own.
I snapped out of my lesson when the compound denied us access to land. I was out of my seat and at the cockpit in a flash, taking the radio from Benson.
“It is a federal crime to deny landing to that tail number. Anyone certified to work in aviation is required to know it. You let us land and do not announce it over radio, nor tell anyone there we are here or I will have you in my dungeon until you turn ancient, savvy?”
There was a pause and then the guy came back on. “You’re cleared to land, Your Majesty. I apologize. I misheard one of the numbers.”
Yeah, sure he did.
I shared a glance with Benson and neither of us was buying that. So either my grandfather worried I might do something like this and thought to try and block me or the people handling Darren’s flight safety were incompetent? Underqualified?
I wasn’t going to let that stand and risk another death because of that.
We landed and people couldn’t hide their shock as I stepped off the plane, guards coming up to us and having a range of reactions.
“Do not call it in if you like your lives,” I warned one who reached for the radio on his shoulder. “I don’t care your orders. I’m queen. That wins over all else.”
One stepped up in front of the others and formally bowed. “I assume this is an emergency. I’ll take you right to your uncle, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you,” I accepted, fine with them thinking that was what was happening.
It wasn’t really wrong after all. I didn’t know it wasn’t an emergency after all.
We were led to their reception hall, and I ignored the glances Benson kept giving me as if asking if I had a plan. The two ancients seemed amused and ready for entertainment.
Seriously, my life was fucking chaos and just… There really weren’t words for it most days.
“Open it,” the guard with us ordered someone at the door, and he was clearly someone in charge because they didn’t even hesitate, others around us bowing to me.
People gasped as I walked in like I owned the place. Most immediately stood and others hurried to scramble then, bowing and behaving as they should.
All but one. The rage coming off of him was unreal and he was the one I was there for. I knew what he looked like from interviews and articles. He was always at one fundraiser or another for the family or companies. Always smiling and talking about the moral duty of the fortunate to help others.
Apparently, while completely lying about… All of it.
Darren had rushed over to me. “Your Majesty, are you okay? What’s wrong?”
I didn’t meet his eyes, too focused on Grandfather. “You never have to call me that, Uncle. Not ever. We’re beyond that, but at least you are actually the person you say you are unlike others here.”
“You aren’t welcome here,” Grandfather bellowed as he finally stood.
I moved faster than any of them could keep up with and broke several of the big bones in his body before anyone could think to intervene…
Including his spine. “I am queen, old man. You have no authority over me. That was always your real problem with what Mother did. You lost authority over your property when she became queen, right?”
I felt it and started chuffing. I couldn’t think why he would risk the whole family by what he was trying to do to Darren, but it hit me on the flight over as I was trying to cloak my hand.
Mother becoming queen made Grandfather’s authority over here invisible—just gone. He was no longer in power. Even if she was mated to another man, he would have chosen that man and had power as the father-in-law.
But with the royal family?
No fucking way. There was no fucking way he could exert influence and control over his “property” when she mated into the royal family.
Belinda swore under her breath and I glanced up to see her looking around the room before she met my gaze, anger in her eyes.
I smirked at her. “This is why I’ve always respected you beyond being an ancient. You are always the smartest person in the room, definitely the fastest to catch on to things.”
“Not always, darling, since you caught it first,” she said with a dark chuckle.
I swallowed loudly. “I had inside information that made it easier to put together and it ends tonight.”
“Sagan, what’s going on?” Darren asked, his tone scared.
I ignored him and focused on Grandfather. “Pick a leg or arm. I’ll give you that choice and let you still fly.” I grabbed him by the hair and yanked him up so he could see me. “Pick, or I will, and take the whole thing, not just cripple you so you can’t be head of the family.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” he bit out, trying to hide his pain.
I smiled and let him see the darkness I carried.
“I want a wing for what you’ve done, but your dragon doesn’t deserve that, so pick a leg or an arm, old man, before I really lose my temper.
” I felt someone approaching and didn’t even look at them.
“I’ll burn you to ash if you interfere. This is a score I’m settling for my mother and myself. ”
“Touch her and I’ll kill you,” Darren warned, his voice cold. “Sagan, he’s already out. Please, tell me what’s going on.”
“He went to the media,” I snitched, smirking when Grandfather’s eyes filled with my death.
“I was warned that he’s working with a dirty reporter who’s framing it all that you’re corrupted—weakly corrupted by me already and he was so righteous to stay out of it all of these years.
To smear us both so badly to cover up the truth and his own sins. ”
“June,” Darren whispered. “June warned you.” He didn’t even wait for me to confirm it.
“How could you, Father? That would ruin the whole family, not just me. It could ruin all of Thovudin! Our companies would—thousands of jobs would be lost in an instant. How could you risk all of that for your pride?”
“Oh, it’s not even about pride anymore, is it, old man?
” I purred. “Darren’s yours, and another of your assets didn’t pay out and must be punished just like the last one?
If you can’t have them, no one can, right?
That’s the way of this fucked-up family?
” I smashed his head into the solid wood table, satisfied when I heard something break.
And not from the table.
“Pick. Leg or arm.”
“Wait, Your Majesty, please, do not go this far and tarnish yourself,” someone called out.
I glanced up to see an elder, based on the hair color, and frowned. I snorted. “Tarnish? Right, because I’m a woman? If I was male, you would think it my duty and a point of honor.” I snorted again when I saw it in his eyes. “You sexist, pompous asshole.”
I slammed Grandfather’s head into the table so he finally cried out in pain and then let him go so I could gesture around the room.
“Look at all the electric dragons here. Does no one else find that odd?”
“I’ve never seen so many in one family,” Benson muttered as he glanced around with a frown.
“It’s exceedingly rare, but there are a few bloodlines that have a predisposition for a certain type of dragon,” Modren said.
“Normally for a reason and assumed blessed by the gods. There was a family mostly of storm dragons in Nerthus that helped and it was a good fit. But they tried to overthrow the royal family, so obviously they’re all dead. ”
Obviously. Sure thing there, buddy.