Page 6 of Crown of Betrayal and Blood (Dragons of Tirene #3)

Chapter Six

Though the sun has set by the time I return to the palace, rows of ever-lights brighten the exterior walkways enough for me to find my way to the palace doors.

While the nobility might act as if we have nothing to fear during the daytime, the guards and staff still ensure that the night’s darkness does not intrude on the safe places. Of course, the staff and guards were the ones left to clean up the blood and gore from that night while the nobles fled to safety. They, more than anyone, have reason to remember and fear the drachen.

I move through the hallways toward the Royal Archives, the rolled map still tucked into my dress. My steps echo off the high-vaulted ceilings and wide walkways as the torn soles of my slippers flap.

The doors to the archives stand open. In the wake of Jasper’s death, the library is no longer seen as a place to avoid. Still, habit remains and few bother to wander there.

“Leesa?” I keep my voice low, wary of disturbing the silence that clings to the rows upon rows of ancient tomes and scrolls. “Bastian?”

A muffled curse answers me, followed by the shuffling of papers. Tracing the sounds, I find my sister and Bastian huddled over a cluttered table. The frustration carved into their faces is as deep as the lines of text they pore over.

“Anything?” The hopelessness in their eyes tells me all I need to know.

“Nothing.” Bastian runs a hand through his dark brown hair. “We’ve scoured every legend, every whisper of a tale, every cross-reference in every book we could find that might even come close. The drachen remain a mystery. No land at any time has written of their existence. Outside of the one chronicle you found, that is.”

Leesa straightens, her olive complexion pale from stress. “Every lead’s a dead end, Lark. I’m so sorry.”

She drops her head in her hands, rubbing her temples.

My throat tightens, because this is what I was afraid of. In addition to their theft of the throne, the Barda family erased every reference to the drachen from the books.

The greed and pride of a select few might yet kill us all.

With so much at stake, we can’t afford to wallow in disappointment.

“Come with me then.” I gesture toward the door. “We need to speak with Sterling.”

“Okay.” Leesa stands and starts to reach for me. “What happened to your dress?”

Flipping my tattered skirt to hide the scratches from Dame’s scales, I step away. “I’ll explain once we’re with Sterling. Come on. The sun has set, so the ceremony is over for the day.” I motion for them to follow me and head for the door.

After a bit of quiet discussion, they both do as I ask, trailing behind me.

Halfway to the throne room, they catch up with me. I’m nearly out of breath, struggling with my shredded skirt and destroyed slippers.

“Okay, seriously, what is going on with your clothing?” Leesa hisses in my ear. “You have even more cuts in the back of your skirt. Did you get into a fight or something?”

“What are you not telling us?” Bastian surprises me by draping his thin coat around my shoulders. Even with Tirene’s temperate climate, the summer evenings can get a little chilly here. “Are you in danger?”

Guilt sears through me when I realize how this must seem. “No, nothing like that.” I gesture downward. “I didn’t have time to change into my riding gear. Dame was too insistent because she had something wonderful to show me.”

“Oh, so it’s good news?” Leesa perks up, her brown eyes twinkling. “I could really use some good news after several days of failing to get anywhere with our research.”

“It is, but that happened after…” Now doesn’t seem to be the right time to tell them about my abduction, so I just shake my head again. “I’ll tell you all about my day once we find Sterling. That way, I don’t have to recount everything twice.”

As we near the throne room, I slow my pace, attempting to quiet our approach as I cross through the doorway and into the grand throne room. Stretching as tall as possible, I scan the heads of the assemblage.

The opulence of the throne room astounds me every time I enter. From the marble floors to the marble columns, the space reminds me of one of the many palaces of the gods I once read about in an old history book.

Sterling sits on the dais amidst his courtiers. They all seem very invested in detailing their points to him and buttering him up while browning their noses.

Agnar and Blair are at his back, their faces neutral as they keep an eye out for anything and everything.

The majority of the crowd has left already, and more filter out as I wait.

As if he can sense my presence, Sterling’s possessive gaze finds mine across the room.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have the same reaction, though now is not the time to acknowledge my desire.

This man is mine.

I signal for him to get rid of the courtiers so we can talk privately.

His lower lip curls, betraying his apprehension, before smoothing into resolve. He gives me an almost imperceptible nod, and with a few quiet words, the throne room empties, leaving just the six of us in the vast expanse.

“What in the name of the gods happened to you?” Sterling stands abruptly. “Why are you wearing Bastian’s coat? From the state of your hair, you look like you’ve been battling a wind user.”

I raise up a hand. “Before you start worrying, I promise you, I’m fine. I went for a dragon ride after, um…getting kidnapped.”

“Fuck, Lark.” Sterling rakes a hand through his hair and prowls toward me. “And you’re only just telling me?”

“You didn’t mention anything about that.” Leesa exchanges a glance with Bastian, then she appraises me like she’s scanning me for any unmentioned injuries.

Frowning, Agnar whispers something to Blair, but he seems to know better than to voice his concern.

“It’s not a big deal. And I would have told you before now,” I focus on Sterling, “but you’ve been busy. I didn’t want to interrupt anything.”

“You’re more important than anything else.” Sterling closes the short distance between us, taking my hand in his. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m okay.” When Sterling raises an eyebrow, I hurry on to explain. “I know I look rough, but I’m unharmed. Truly.”

I go on to tell them the quick version of what happened, starting with being drugged and then waking up in the cottage, and ending with Dame taking me to see her newly laid eggs in the cavern.

Reaching into my dress, I pull out the ancient paper. “The man who kidnapped me claims he wants to help but couldn’t do so with all the nobles and council members around. He acted like he wasn’t sure who he could trust.”

I raise an eyebrow at Sterling. Only he and I know of the royal deceit and my true lineage. He sits amongst us, a crown prince cloaked in borrowed majesty, while I stand, the last daughter of Queen Aero’s forgotten line, plotting a return to a city lost to time and memory.

Sterling glances at the throne, then drops his gaze. “Some of the noble families of Tirene do have a checkered past.”

That’s such a nice way of saying they betrayed their oaths of fealty and killed their queen after she risked everything to save them. “Considering he gave me a map showing the location of the Lost City and didn’t harm me, I’m inclined to believe him.”

That gets everyone’s attention.

Bastian comes up to my side immediately, trying to peek at what I’m holding. I unroll the ancient map and adjust it so everyone can read it, tapping the marker for the city we’ve searched through legends and myths to find with my finger.

Sterling’s eyes flicker to the map. “Start at the beginning and walk me through what happened again. I want you to tell me everything you remember. Every little detail. We might still be able to catch him if the guards are alerted.”

While Leesa and Bastian pore over the map, I offer a step-by-step timeline of what happened, including all that I recall about the man and his cottage.

“The Lost City is north of the Impassable Desert? I didn’t think there was anything up there except wilderness.” Sterling leans forward, inspecting the map.

A lock of Blair’s sandy brown hair falls into his eyes as he studies the terrain with us. “The desert doesn’t stretch to the coasts.” He taps the clear margin along the northern edge. “We could skirt the sands. It’s longer but safer.”

“Nobody ventures there.” Bastian folds his arms across his chest, drumming his fingers along his bicep while he thinks. “Nothing to find but wilderness, they say. But then, I did track the dragons that way when they fled in fear. I thought they’d gone into the desert. It’s possible they went past the desert. They can fly through areas we normally wouldn’t approach.”

“Sounds like we need to go up there and find out. Maybe the city still exists. Maybe it doesn’t.” Blair shrugs, as if the unknown is just another adventure rather than a threat lurking in the shadows.

Sterling shakes his head. “Absolutely not. Are you forgetting where you got this map from?” He glares at me. “This was given to you by a man who drugged and abducted you. And you want to use it? To travel to uncharted territories? No fucking way.”

“He didn’t hurt me.” I bite back the not-so-polite comment that simmers just beneath the surface. Sterling’s had a long day, just like I have, and I don’t want to argue with him. “He had every chance to do so, but he didn’t.”

“Maybe he wanted to earn your trust and is just biding his time so he can kill you and dump your body in a remote ditch where we’ll never find it.” Sterling’s voice grows louder with every word. “Considering you’re a dragoncaller, he also had to know that if he didn’t keep you calm and the dragons were close enough to feel you, they would come to save you.”

Given how upset Sterling is, there’s no way in hells I’m about to tell him whatever the man drugged me with also temporarily muted my magic. “I’m not saying I trust him. Not at all. Still, though, I didn’t get the sense he meant me any harm.”

“You don’t know that. Not for certain.” A muscle works in Sterling’s jaw, and I can tell he’s holding back. “You’re so damn stubborn.”

A dull throb pulses at my temples when I think of missing this opportunity due to how it was handed to me. Then I catch sight of Leesa, quietly battling her own pain. She rubs her temples, murmuring words too faint to catch, though her brown eyes are steadfast when she meets my gaze.

I reach out and squeeze her hand. “Are you all right?”

“Fine.” She offers me a weak smile.

I let her transparent lie slide for now. We all carry our secrets, some heavier than others. Far be it for me to judge.

“I could go with her.” Agnar nods in my direction. “Keep her safe.”

“The more of us there are, the safer we’ll be.” Leesa comes forward. “I can go too.”

From the way Sterling’s furrowed his brow, I can tell he’s actually considering it.

Still, I don’t want my sister risking her life to go with me. We’ve only just recently been reunited. And though I’d hate to offend her, her safety trumps any concerns over hurting her feelings. “But you don’t have wings.”

“I do.” Bastian inches closer to Leesa. “I can go with her. With all three of them. I’ve made the trip to the desert before, and I’d love to help in any way I can.”

“As would I.” Blair glances at Sterling, then drops his gaze at the sight of the glare being directed at him. “It’s a lead. We need to at least explore it. Besides, there’s safety in numbers.”

“We’ll need provisions, maps, and a dragon for Leesa. I believe I can convince one of the them to go with us.” My eyes lock onto Sterling’s in a silent challenge. “I can do this with or without your approval. But I’d rather have it.”

I ignore the frigid stare he directs at me.

Bastian gives Sterling a slight bow, a loyal subject to his royal pain in the ass. “She’s right. You taught her well, Prince Knox. Lark can handle herself. And this is our only option to learn more about the drachen and what they’re capable of.”

Blair nods, his sandy hair catching the light from the high windows. “You’ve seen her in action. And you’ve seen what she can do. You have to trust her…trust all of us.”

Sterling’s jaw tightens. He looks every bit the soldier he is, trained to suppress his emotions in favor of strategy and strength. But I know him. The conflict within is as fierce as any battlefield.

“Protecting you is my responsibility. But I can’t go with you. I’m needed here. And with the issue of Aclaris mobilizing their troops, I don’t dare leave.”

“Then trust your training.” It’s a low blow, but this needs to be done. More discussion won’t solve anything.

When he flinches, I know I’ve scored.

Which fills me with guilt.

For a long moment, Sterling stands in silence. Then he sighs. “All right. You’d all better start preparing. It’s a long flight, so you’ll have to leave by sunrise.”

Relief washes over me, mingled with the sharp tang of responsibility. We’re about to venture into the unknown and take a leap of faith into a realm shrouded in legend and mist.

“Thank you.” I know full well the cost of his concession. Tomorrow, we will set out to find what has been lost.

Still, I can’t shake the niggling sense of foreboding in the back of my mind.