Page 27 of Dragon Fight (The Dragon Queen #2)

27

W hy have you brought strange humans among us, Hadrian? one of the dragons standing in the gallery asked. I could tell he was the one speaking as all the dragons turned to face him as he stepped forward. He was a massive deep blue beast. This one we have seen before, coming begging for his dragon’s egg like a wandering tinker. I snorted when the dragon nodded to Draven. But what of these? And a young queen returned to us? That is something of note. The humans jealously guard their breeding stock.

Breeding stock ? Glimmer’s voice was so sharp I winced as the collective gaze of all of these massive, dangerous creatures became focussed on her. As if in acknowledgement of that, my wing’s dragons went to stand by Glimmer, Darkspire included.

One that has already chosen her mates by the looks of it , another voice said. This was a burnt-orange dragon also standing in the gallery. So there is no hope of any of our young males finding a female to bond to.

“But there is a chance of others coming, if she is who I think she is,” Draven said, his voice ringing out through the basin. Dragons stared down at him. He was a far better spokesman than me, and was able to meet their eyes without flinching. “Tanis foretold—”

You do not have the right to speak of Tanis, she who is first among us!

The rebuke was a sharp one, coming from a bright red dragon who shouldered forward on the gallery to stare down at Draven, smoke pouring from his muzzle. And when I looked around? Each dragon in the amphitheatre moved slowly, rising to their feet, wings stretching wide.

“Get back, Pippin,” Ged told me, pulling out his sword, the rest of the wing doing the same. “If anything starts, run, lass. Promise me that.”

I didn’t. I pulled the knives Brom had gifted me from their sheaths, which were worse than nothing in a potential fight like this, something that the red dragon noted.

Look at these pathetic creatures, Hadrian! Pulling out their inadequate little weapons with little provocation, the red dragon spat. Humans are stupid creatures ruled by their warlike impulses. He stared down at Glimmer for just a second. The little queen will have a home here, her mates as well, if they can cast off the shackles their ‘riders’ have bestowed upon them.

At that, all five adult male dragons clustered closer to us, spreading their wings wide, tails lashing, in an attitude of obvious protectiveness.

Though I don’t hold high hopes for that outcome . The red dragon stared down at us, where we drew closer to each other as our dragons herded us in.

“Pippin, we talked about this…” Ged growled.

“The hell we did,” I shot back. “You told me what to do and I treated that order with all of the respect it deserved.”

The other three chuckled at that, but the sound stopped when Brom sheathed his sword with dramatic emphasis.

“Nothing we have on us will help us in a fight against a city full of dragons.” Brom’s voice rang with the authority of the commander. Obsidian rumbled in response, as if in disagreement. “And, lad, you know I’d never send you into battle against impossible odds: this definitely fits the bill.” As he slapped his hand down on his dragon’s side, the tension seemed to leech out of Obsidian’s body and his wings slowly settled back against his body. “We don’t know why we’re here,” Brom told the assembly. “Prince Draven brought us and Glimmer here without much of an explanation, but I do know he believes it's for the young dragon’s benefit. If you can help Glimmer in any way, you’ll have our full support.”

The red dragon was about to reply. I saw it in the way his head rose and his chest pushed out. But before he could, another voice cut through his. A female one.

Peace, Cyrus , she said, age, wisdom and experience saturating her voice. You criticise the humans and yet you back them up against the wall as soon as they arrive, ignoring the laws of hospitality. She stepped out from the shadows and the whole gathering seemed to take in a collective breath at the sight of her.

She was immense, far, far bigger than even Zafira, and the gold of her scales had darkened to an antique patina, indicating her age. But it wasn’t the lustre of her scales that caught my eye, it was her face. Her long muzzle was well-shaped and elegant in the way of all queens, and she held herself with a lofty air, but she had suffered a terrible injury at some time long past. Old and well-healed, it was still terrible to look upon. The mark of a dragon’s claws had left great white scars where no scales would grow across her face, explaining where the hell her other eye had gone. Because instead of a golden twin orb, there was a dark, empty socket.

I am Cynane , she said, inclining her head to the lot of us.

“Greetings to you, my queen,” Flynn said, stepping forward and performing the most perfect of courtly bows. When Cynane’s eyelids fluttered slightly we did the same, even Glimmer bending her head.

Yes, well , Cynane said, her voice crisp. They are at least a polite bunch. A single flap of her wings was all the warning we got as she leapt off the gallery and glided down to the basin below, landing right in front of Glimmer. And what do we have here?

Her focus was entirely on my dragon. Cynane moved forward, each step as precise and careful as a courtier’s, then she lowered her head to press her massive skull against Glimmer’s.

I sucked in a sharp breath, losing all sense of the world around me as it felt like my mind was filled with Cynane’s. It wasn’t like with Glimmer, where she spoke into my mind and I spoke back.

Instead, I was assaulted by a rapid flicker of images.

A golden dragon mid-flight, another queen dropping down from the sky upon her, claws out like a stooping hawk ready to— The court at Wyrmpeak, Queen Raina sitting on the throne alone, an empty-eyed Draven standing by her side. Glacier with his back against a mountainside, his tail lashing, right before— Then I was spiralling down, down, down, towards a point of light and within that pool of illumination, three bodies lay. Dead, I thought initially, then sleeping, I decided, when I saw the sheets on the bed. Two men, one woman wedged between them, each a picture of dark beauty in repose, right before I got close. The woman’s eyes flicked open and when she saw me, her face changed. She was Ada at first, her eyes dark with triumph, but then those eyes bled from dark to green and catlike.

Beatrice lying between Brom and Draven.

But as my breath evened out, the images faded and I came back to myself to see Cynane pull her head away with a nod.

You are a seer, Glimmer, the queen dragon pronounced. One who has had to suffer much, as is often the case with those of your abilities. But that… She let out a sigh before turning to the rest of the gathering of dragons. Enough of this. Glimmer is what they say she is and the prince has brought her to us, as promised. You can debate this decision as much as you like in your own dens, but right now this young dragon and her motley band are coming with me.

And that’s how a queen worked. She delivered her orders and then marched off, expecting them to be followed. As they were. Cloudy shouldered forward, dropping his shoulder for Glimmer to clamber up on and then trotted forward to catch up with the queen. The rest of our dragons following suit, leaving us to walk behind them.

“What the hell have you dropped us into, Draven?” Flynn hissed as soon as the prince fell in beside us. “I swear if you’ve done this to harm Pippin or Glimmer–”

“You’ll what?” Princes could be just as imperious as queens. Draven turned his head to stare at us all with icy disdain, before he unbent enough to explain his machinations. “This is the only way forward that I’ve been able to discern.” He looked towards our dragons before shooting me a quick sidelong look. “If we’d gone straight back to the keep, Mother would have had agents there: in the kitchen, within the maids’ number, even in the riders of good Harlstonian blood. We need allies rather desperately if Glimmer is to keep her head on her shoulders—and Pippin along with her. A little thanks wouldn’t go astray.”

“Thanks?” Ged spluttered. “How about some bloody—?”

“Thank you.”

I’d seen a lot of expressions on Draven’s face, but never this one. His steps faltered as I reached out and took his hand, his long fingers limp with shock as I gave them a squeeze. But before he could blink, I pulled my hand away, feeling sure I’d just trashed yet another point of royal protocol. Draven didn’t seem especially concerned at that, though. Rather, his face was a picture of surprise, even as we reached Cynane’s building.