Page 16 of Crown of Betrayal and Blood (Dragons of Tirene #3)

Chapter Sixteen

Rhiann takes one glimpse at my exhausted, grief-ravaged face the next morning and bustles out of the room. She returns carrying a tray laden with steaming cloths and small jars of salve. The calming scents of lavender and chamomile waft into the room, soothing the jagged edges of my headache.

“Lie down and close your eyes.”

I follow her instructions, and she applies warm, citrus-scented compresses to my face. My stuffy nose eases almost instantly. She swaps out cloths, ending with smaller cold ones placed over my eyes that smell like cucumbers.

The ministrations remind me of my sister. “How’s Leesa doing today, do you know?”

Rhiann clucks her tongue. “Not well, I’m afraid. More headaches. It’s beyond anything I can soothe, so I summoned a healer. He advises rest and silence for the day.”

Guilt gnaws at me. “I should be there with her.”

“You must first take care of yourself before you help others.” Rhiann plucks the cold compresses from my eyes, and I cautiously blink them open. “Though I don’t think staying in bed all day is the right remedy. I haven’t known you long, but I have a feeling keeping your mind occupied will be the best medicine.”

“You think so?” My tone conveys my doubt.

She surprises me by perching on the edge of my bed and touching my hand. “I understand your loss. I discovered my own mother’s body. She wasn’t murdered as yours was but struck dead just as suddenly. The healer said her heart gave out. While I imagine your shock outweighed mine, my sense of loss was equally strong.”

“I’m so sorry.” Though I reach for something beyond platitudes, I only find the stark landscape of shared suffering. “The suddenness of it is hard to bear.”

“It is.” Her eyes, usually so guarded, flicker with ghosts. “But losing those we love is part of life. Sometimes we lose them with things left unsaid and that hurts even worse, but mostly, the pain proves that we’re living the right way by opening our hearts. Loving others is what makes this all worthwhile, and the pain you’re feeling over your mother’s death honors her. Feel it. Accept it. And know your mother loved you back and will be waiting to greet you in the next world.”

My throat tightens. “When does it get better?”

“It’s different for everyone, but eventually, time heals in its own unfathomable way.”

She gestures for me to sit up, and I do. The other maid has laid out an outfit for me. A set of trousers, a tunic, and boots all in the traditional white of mourning. Though I’d begun to dress in regular clothing, this seems fitting in light of my mother’s death.

I dress quickly, struggling to think of anything but my loss and grief.

I’m nearly twitching with the need to get out and move now that my head is no longer pounding. “Thank you.”

“Family attends to their own.” Her gaze holds mine. “Now that you’re Knox’s betrothed, we are connected by more than duty.”

My mouth drops as I head for the door, because she’s right. I hadn’t considered it before, but if I do end up marrying Sterling, I will have Rhiann as a cousin as well. “If you’re part of the deal, that gives me even more reason to marry him.”

“You call him Sterling.” Rhiann smiles as we walk side by side to the door. “Very few call him that.”

“Yes, well, I did get to know him while he was pretending to be an alicorn trainer and flight instructor.” I shrug, opening the door for both of us. “The name kind of stuck.”

The guards snap to attention as Rhiann and I pass, tracing our every step with newfound diligence.

I eye the tension in their stances. “I see they’ve been admonished.”

“Indeed.” A flicker of fleeting yet unmistakable satisfaction crosses Rhiann’s face. “Vigilance has been restored in the wake of negligence. My cousin did not take kindly to their lapses. A court member slain within these very walls, and you abducted from under their noses. He dismissed the captain of the king’s guard.”

Hyde. I recall the former captain’s swagger, that inflated sense of invincibility he wore like a second skin, his ready sneer, and fail to summon a speck of sympathy. “I won’t pretend to be saddened by that news.”

Rhiann glances around us before lowering her voice. “Truth be told, neither will I. He once told me that if I didn’t strut through the palace as if I had a giant pole up my ass, he might be tempted to woo me.” She harumphs. “As if I’ve ever strutted a single day in my life.”

Despite everything, I find myself snickering as we head for the closest exit to the courtyard. I could get used to this new, more personable side of Rhiann.

She keeps in step with me. “If we’re to be family, I would like to get to know you better. I must admit, I am heartened you are with my cousin, not because of his status but because of who he is.”

We stride through the corridors, the echo of our footsteps a testament to the vastness of the palace. Guards stand at attention, their numbers seemingly doubled, each one alert and watchful. Their scrutiny prickles at the back of my neck, reminding me of the ever-lurking danger.

“Yes, well, it certainly isn’t because of his sweet and even disposition.” I speak without thinking, but she laughs anyway.

“Then what was it? My father always joked we would have to pay someone to marry him. Or he would remain a bachelor forever. We never expected he would be the one to sit on the throne.” She cocks her head at me, and I realize she’s truly curious.

I suppose if I had a cousin who could be as arrogant as Sterling, I would wonder the same thing. “Oh, I don’t know. A lot of things, really. The way he saw me for me and not just as a title or the bearer of other people’s expectations. How he helped me when he shouldn’t have in order to assist people in need. I think it was his compassion that really won me over, and how gently he treated the alicorns and dragons at Flighthaven. He’s not terrible to look at either.”

She gives me a sage smile but doesn’t comment.

As we step outside, the sun’s warmth greets us, the light a stark contrast to the somber mood clinging to the stone walls behind us. I pause, allowing the rays to chase away the chill of shadows and sorrow.

“Fresh air.” Rhiann takes a deep breath, her gray-streaked black wings catching the light as if to absorb the day’s promise. “A necessary reprieve.”

“Something feels different today.” I watch a pair of servants hurry across our path, their arms filled with bags. “More than just the change of guard.”

“Much has changed since last night.” Rhiann makes a sweeping gesture toward the soaring spires of the palace. “Knox dismissed all visitors as soon as it was proven none of them had any hand in your mother’s death. He also dispatched soldiers to our borders.”

“Attack could come from anywhere, and we’d be hard-pressed to discern which is the greater evil, drachen or human.” Either could rip the throat out of a loving woman and leave her to drown in her own blood.

“Indeed.” There’s a grimness to Rhiann’s profile as she surveys the horizon. “We are in precarious times. Which is why we need to be ready for anything.”

The path underfoot shifts from cool marble to the soft give of grass, and I sense we’re no longer wandering aimlessly. Rhiann, with that same purposeful grace she commands in the palace halls, leads me toward the distant clatters and grunts of the training fields.

I rush to ask a final question, one I need answered before we’re surrounded by men. “Do you know what Sterling was thinking when he claimed me as his betrothed? Was he serious, or did he use it as a convenient excuse to fend off all those eager courtiers?”

My heart flutters like a trapped bird, uncertain of its fate.

Rhiann’s laughter, soft and knowing, wraps around me. “I stopped trying to read my family’s minds a long time ago, especially the men’s. In fact, I’m sure I’m quite relieved to remain ignorant of their thoughts half the time. I do know my cousin though.” The fondness in her voice is a soothing balm. “If my cousin declares something, trust that he means it. He’s not one for games, especially not with matters of the heart.”

Relief swamps me, chased by a burst of confusion. Do I want the betrothal to be real or not? At first, I hoped Sterling’s announcement was a ruse, but given my reaction just now, that may no longer be true.

Ugh. I wish he’d spoken to me first. Then maybe I wouldn’t be dealing with this emotional chaos on top of struggling with my mother’s death.

The training fields sprawl out before us, a somber sea of movement where soldiers drill relentlessly, the weight of recent events bearing down on their shoulders.

Many of them notice me, their gazes lingering with a mix of respect and curiosity. Realizing I will be inundated with condolences, I hesitate to step forward. I’m not ready to deal with that. Not yet. Grief is still a dark cloud in my chest, threatening to burst at any moment.

Maybe I should?—

The mental touch of Dame brushes my mind, and I glance up to find her shadow covering me. The idea of flying, of getting away from everyone and everything, sounds perfect.

Dame swoops lower, circling down to a graceful landing despite her incredible size.

“Go ahead.” Rhiann shuffles back, nodding toward the reddish-brown dragon now watching me. “They were worried about you last night, and I am sure you will both feel better after a flight. Take all the time you need.”

As much as I want to run to Dame, to fly away with her, there’s one more thing I need to do. I turn back and wrap Rhiann in a fierce hug. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Of course, Lark.” She hugs me back. “Just make sure you keep Knox in line. That’s all I ask.”

“Easier said than done.” With a laugh, I release her before facing Dame again.

The dragon lowers her foreleg, and I climb up to her back. When she straightens, I settle myself just behind her shoulders.

Once I have my wings tucked tight, she leaps into the sky. Trees bend and sway as we ascend, leaving behind the drilling soldiers, the vigilant guards, and the watchful eyes of the kingdom.

Dame trills as her emotions slam into me.

Protectiveness. Relief. Affection. Too many other feelings to name.

We soar, flesh to flesh. We may be human and dragon, but we’re family nonetheless.

Beneath us, the ordered movements of troops stretch across the land—the very ones Rhiann spoke of—ready to defend against unseen threats. Yet, as we glide above them, I sense a strange serenity here amidst the vigilance.

Sunlight glints off armor in a solemn dance as we fly over the squads below. They’re heading south and southwest, their wings beating in unison. A display of Tirene’s might. The air is thick with the scent of upheaval, the tension palpable even from this vantage point.

Dame remains quiet, her massive form cutting through the air with grace. She’s a silent pillar of strength, her emotional support as unwavering as the beat of her wings. With each stroke, she seems to absorb some of the ache that lingers in my heart, shrinking the void left by my mother’s untimely death. I let the grief wash over me, allowing it to ebb away on the currents we ride.

The flight brings a clarity I haven’t felt since my world toppled upside down.

Cool, invigorating air rushes past us, and for a moment, I can breathe again. “Thank you. For your friendship…for being here.”

Her reply is not in words but in the warmth that emanates from her, enveloping me in an embrace that reaches beyond the physical. Dame’s presence, of all the dragons, is so large and encompassing, it’s easy to lose myself in her.

Normally, that is something I fight against in order to keep my sense of self.

Today, I lean into it. I let her emotions overwhelm mine and erase the pain. Together, we slice through the air, becoming one with the sky.

Eventually, we circle back toward the palace, descending smoothly into the fire paddock. The other dragons regard us with curious eyes as we land, their presence a comforting reminder that life continues amid the chaos. I slide off Dame, my boots sinking into the sand, and lean into her side in a gesture of wordless gratitude.

She gives me a gentle nudge, then one by one, other dragons come forward, offering their own version of condolences. Heads the size of carriages are pressed against me. Their scales are warm against my skin, their breaths puffing out in huffs of solidarity.

In their company, the burden I carry feels a little lighter.

At a safe distance, dragontenders and loitering nobles alike stare. Seeing the dragons, the majestic and often deadly creatures they are, gathering around Tirene’s newest oddity has got to be a strange sight to them.

I linger among them, taking comfort in their quiet companionship. They are friends, guardians, and family. And as I turn to leave the paddock, the hope that was a mere flicker in my heart fans into a flame. There is still so much to be done, so many mysteries to unravel, but with allies like these, I am never truly alone.

Stepping away from the paddock, my heart carries a new kind of strength, borrowed from the dragons’ silent solidarity.

I weave through the palace corridors. Leesa may not be in a state of mind to search the archives for the answers we need, but I am. And there is one more name to add to our research list.

In my vision of Queen Aero at the Lost City, she spoke of a man she called Nick. The familiar way she used his name made it seem as if he was a friend or casual acquaintance. I know for a fact there are no mentions of a man by that name in The Chronicles of the Mother Wurm .

Then again, that book was written by Aero’s daughter, not the queen herself.

If he was a casual friend and not a noble or advisor, I might be able to find him in the kingdom’s census records. And considering she said he could hear anything said, he would certainly have been a notable figure in history books.

A hint of an idea teases the back of my mind but vanishes again before materializing.

Up ahead, the dowager queen, regal even in her somber attire, glides down the hall. Her presence is a stark reminder of the weight that crowns carry, the secrets they must keep. A little bit of the hollowness in my heart fills when I recall her kindness yesterday and the prayers she spoke on my mother’s behalf.

The niggle returns. Prayers…

Soft footsteps hurry down the hall behind me. The pretty maid who attended me the other day reaches my side. She pauses and dips her chin. “I’m so sorry about your mother, Lady Lark. May you find solace in your many good memories and let them tide you over until you both meet again.”

She scurries off, while I stop moving.

Solace . The same word the queen used yesterday when she prayed.

Solace in the darkness…

Queen Aero’s and her companion, Vincent Akehust’s, statements echo in my head.

“Nick told me the only way to end the corruption is with phoenix tears. I must gather those.”

“But can we trust words delivered that way? Please, my queen, think this through. At the very least, ask for guidance from a priest first.”

“Careful, Lord Akehurst. You know Nick can hear a whisper even from the deepest shadows.”

Words delivered that way. Priest. Hearing a whisper from even the deepest shadows.

The realization injects my body with a dose of elation. The truth is so obvious, I wonder how we missed it.

Queen Aero wasn’t referring to a man at all, but a goddess. The goddess of darkness and night.

Nyc.

The being capable of reaching into every shadow and listening to the murmurs of the world.

The relaxed way Aero referenced Nyc speaking with her is probably what threw us for a loop, but I know I’m right.

Even if the idea of a deity entwined in human affairs terrifies me and threatens to reshape everything I ever believed about humans and the gods.