Chapter 49
Forty-Nine
Ella
I stared up at the pair of thrones that dominated the room, where Casimir and Anna sat side by side. They looked down upon Mirko and Andrik as the father-son pair once more escorted the ancient wet nurse to the front of the assembled Elites, this time to have her story questioned.
“Where is he?” I hissed, staring at the vacant spot to Casimir’s right side. The spot where Dirk should be.
Milly leaned over to reply. “I don’t know. Why are you asking me?”
A shifter, in front of us and several seats over, looked back slightly.
There was no such thing as a private conversation among dragons.
Their hearing was too good, even from where Milly and I sat, far off to one side, near an exit, half the room likely heard us talking.
Thankfully, most attention was up front, where drama that affected the entire kingdom was taking place.
My relationship was a sideshow comparatively, at least to the others.
“I can feel him,” I said, keeping my voice as quiet as could be. The murmuring in the room had increased when the questioning began as the Elites discussed their predictions. “He’s not that far.”
But Dirk wasn’t close either. He should be on the throne next to his brother, but he wasn’t there. Wasn’t anywhere. Nobody had seen him in two days.
I clenched my jaw.
You should be here.
I did my best to send that thought as an emotion. Maybe Dirk would understand. Maybe he wouldn’t. But at least I was trying.
At the front of the throne room, Yellena, in her own words, was stating Mirko’s story about how he and his twin brother had been switched at birth. The rumble of the crowd was increasing, the flow of alpha power in the room slowly rising with it, pressing in on Milly and me.
Small. That’s how I felt in the moment. Very small next to the strongest dragons, many of whom resented me and my friends. I had always thought the Ice Tyrant commanded unyielding loyalty from his people, but now that my friends and I lived among them, I was discovering it was quite the opposite.
Casimir’s hold on his position was very unwieldy.
Nobody challenged him, because to do so would mean a fight, and only a few of the Elite could hope to have a chance against him.
Those with the power usually had the brains to know that fighting him wasn’t a smart move.
So while Casimir might not be in danger of being dethroned, many of the Elites were constantly plotting against him.
I hated it. The entire ruling apparatus of the kingdom was corrupt. Casimir should toss them all out and start anew. Doing that would turn too many against him, though, so he was trying to effect change from the inside.
Judging by all the hateful glares directed our way when Milly and I took our seats, it was going to take a long time.
I wasn’t in the throne room for them, though. Or to listen to Mirko and his lies about being switched at birth. I had come there to see if Dirk would show his face and stand at his brother’s side.
He hadn’t, and now I was stuck while the wet nurse was cross-examined by Casimir to try to poke holes in her story.
Where are you, Dirk? What are you doing?
Initially, I had feared he was going to just go find Mirko and kill him right after leaving me. When that hadn’t happened, I waited for him to come back, so we could talk it through. I didn’t understand his obsession and what was behind it. Why was it more important than me?
“You’re wasting your time. She tells the truth. Your father had no claim to the throne.”
The room went silent. Milly’s fingers tightened over my arm. I looked to her and the exit. This was not going the way we had expected. Casimir should have exposed Mirko’s lies by then. But he hadn’t. If anything, his position was becoming more untenable by the second.
“We have nothing but her word to go on, Mirko,” Casimir said, gesturing dismissively. “That’s not enough, and you know it.”
Even from the back of the room I could see Mirko bristle angrily. A dark mutter could be heard here and there from Mirko’s supporters. Things were coming to a head.
“Her word is that you are a pretender!” Mirko shouted, stepping forward.
Everyone held their breath. Milly and I edged toward the door.
“Watch. Your. Words,” Casimir growled, the temperature in the room dropping as all the power was sucked in by the two at the front facing off.
“Coward. False tyrant. You have no right to sit where those better than you have sat!” Mirko’s hand came up, a finger pointed right at Dirk. “I call you out, Casimir. Meet me in Challenge or resign. The choice is yours.”
This was not right. Things were not supposed to get this far. Everything was coming crashing down.
“Very well,” Casimir said without hesitation, his face calm and unbothered. “I accept your challenge. Tonight. On the Field of Ice. Don’t be late.”
I stared, stunned. The stolid authority and instant response from Casimir could only mean one thing.
He’d planned for this. Expected it.
Even wanted it. But why? What was he doing?
“Accepted,” Mirko snapped, recovering his composure. “Andrik will be my second, of course.”
“And Dirk will be mine.”
My eyes darted to the empty spot next to Casimir. If Dirk was going to be his second, he would have to be at the Challenge.
And therefore so would I.