Page 98 of Golden Queen (Idrigard #1)

Io wore his usual fine black clothes—likely also made from spider silk.

They were cut perfectly to fit those long, powerful lines of his body and did not have a sigil or a single bit of embellished stitching.

Somehow that managed to make him look more regal than if he had been wearing a crimson cape lined with godslion fur and holding a golden scepter.

"What?" he asked as he reached for my hand to lead me across the courtyard.

I realized I must have been staring at him like a fool, but I answered him honestly. "I was just thinking that you look like a king.”

He laughed. "That is something that, thank the gods, I will never be."

My brows drew together. "You are not so far removed from the throne as to make that an impossibility, especially since your brother has no heir."

"I have never been in line for the throne, Sera," he said, surprising me. "My duty to Darkwatch far outweighs any responsibility to the kingdom. If my brother died, my sister would be queen."

"Why do they call you Heir to the Throne of Nightfall, then?" I asked, remembering that was precisely how Aben had introduced him in the godsgrass.

"It’s little more than a status symbol and acts as a deterrent in much the same way as my sword.

If I am the heir, then striking against me would be striking against the crown.

It works because it is not widely known that I will not inherit the throne.

" He spoke low as we crossed the courtyard, but I didn't get the sense that he was trying to be secretive, just respectful of the hushed atmosphere of the Citadel.

He continued as we reached a set of red stone steps.

"It was the old way and had been since the Darkwatch dragon riders took the rest of the continent.

The Lord of Darkwatch would not bow to the throne, but he would also have no part in it.

It's only in recent years that people have forgotten the old ways. The second son should lose any claim to the throne the day he’s handed to his uncle in Darkwatch.

He would spend the next hundred or so years learning how to be a proper guardian of the land and the secrets of the Citadel. "

"So how are you already Lord of Darkwatch, then?"

"By rights, I should still be serving under my aunt here—until she dies. Yadala is a good woman, but she is much more a mother than any kind of guardian. She never lived in Darkwatch with her own uncle, Lord Kaigan. My grandfather never cared to make her go. It was the source of centuries of anger among the masters who believed they were putting Darkwatch at risk when she refused to take up the responsibilities of her birthright.”

I considered what the true role of the lord was if their absence could put the realm at risk.

I felt a jolt of excitement that I would soon be privy to the legendary secrets of the ancient Darkwatch druids.

They were hailed as the warriors who had restored the lands to order after the cataclysm that destroyed so much of the world.

I listened intently as Io continued while we strode across the wide courtyard. “When Lord Kaigan died, leaving Darkwatch without a guardian, the masters all agreed that Yadala’s husband, Vidar, would take her place. He would hold the seat for me—until the masters judged me ready for it."

"And they judged you ready at…" I trailed off, trying to calculate how old he would have been when he became Lord of Darkwatch.

"Twenty-three,” he supplied. “And not exactly.

When my father died, my aunt left Darkwatch to go to my mother in her grief.

They have always been as close as sisters.

My mother struggled for so long, though, that Yadala would not leave her.

Eventually Vidar followed his wife to Orin—something a true Lord of Darkwatch would never do.

I was left as lord by default, and the masters had no choice but to accept me, even as young as I was. "

The idea of his mother's grief at King Aris’ passing shocked me. I could not imagine mourning the man who not only beat me, but my child as well. But I didn't say that. Io had not shared with me what his father had done, and I had no plans to betray Aben's confidence.

The inside of the Citadel was even more impressive than the outside. It was cavernous itself with wide, sweeping stairs running off in every direction to what looked like endless levels.

The first guards I had seen since arriving in Darkwatch were fanned out across the entrance in full battle armor, holding long blade-tipped spears. Their faces, severe under silver helms, watched us as we approached.

When we reached them, they straightened, striking their spears onto the marble floor twice before bowing their heads and moving to the side to allow us to pass.

"Afternoon, gentlemen," Io said breezily as he pulled me past the guards.

I turned to watch them move back into place in line behind us.

As we continued down the hall. I wondered what abilities they might have.

Those spears were sharp, and they looked like massively strong warriors.

Each of them was thickly muscled and nearly as tall as Io, but I was sure they were also powerful mages to have been given the duty of guarding the Citadel of Darkwatch.

We passed through what felt like endless chambers. Some were full of studious-looking youths arranged at desks throughout the rooms. Many of them seemed to be writing in one book as they read another.

Other chambers were massive libraries where books lined shelves from floor to ceiling on multiple levels. The tops of the stacks looked almost hazy—as though clouds formed at such a great height.

Huge ladders set on rolling tracks were moving down the rows of books though no hand could be seen manipulating them. Others were still, and I could see crimson-robed people climbing the rungs to reach a higher shelf.

I chuckled as I spied one of the ladders in motion carrying a red-robed young man, his face lit with excitement as he held on with one hand and rode the tracks silently down the row of shelves. He was suspended so far above the marble floor I knew he would never survive a fall from such a height.

The deeper we went into the citadel, the more numerous the red-robed people became.

"They are the scholars," Io told me quietly after I asked him about them. "They have devoted their lives to the simple pursuit of knowledge. The ones wearing the gold chains are magi—magic scholars. The rest pursue different fields of study. master scholars wear black.”

He went on as I looked around at the people appraisingly.

“Students will be in regular clothing. Some of them are noble children from all over the world, but most are common children who come here with no tuition simply because they have a thirst for knowledge or a particularly clever mind. Some of them will eventually become scholars themselves. Others will go back to their lives with whatever they’ve learned here.

" I enjoyed seeing the way his face lit with excitement to explain the Citadel Academy, but there was particular pride in his voice as he spoke of the students.

"Taiger was offered a place here when he was old enough, but it quickly became obvious that there was no place for him except with the dragons.

He still takes lessons here when he can be dragged away from them.

" He turned to me with a grin. "I'll show you that later if we have time—the caves and the nursery.

You'll love it as much as Taiger does, I think. "

As we walked, I asked him another question I had been saving for later. Later had come, and I wanted to know. "What made you give me a dragon?" I asked. "I did some research of my own in Albiyn, and I couldn't find a single other instance in history where Darkwatch gifted a dragon to anyone."

He stopped. We were in a hallway of tall arches lined with thick-looking doors. We were relatively alone even though we could still see people milling about in the chamber we had just left.

"I've asked myself that question a thousand times, Sera," he said.

"I don't know what possessed me to do it.

I had already decided to go with the trade delegation, with Juriae, to Windemere.

Jhol had been there three times already failing to get answers about the Withian children, and I had decided to go myself—with no intention of ever setting foot inside your castle. "

My look must have registered surprise at the revelation, because his answering half smile came just before he ran his thumb across my chin. "I heard about the princess in Windemere who was looking for a husband. Word of your uncle's summons came even as far as Darkwatch."

He looked up as though trying to remember something.

"I think it said something like Princess Aelia of Windemere has reached her majority and remains unwed and ineligible for the throne.

The Steward of the Godsgrass Kingdom welcomes all eligible nobles from across Alterra to the King's Day celebration in hopes that an advantageous alliance can be made. "

My eyes went wide with shock at that bit of news. "He did not!" I cried, feeling embarrassment heat my cheeks even then. I had no idea that Markus had done something that made me look so utterly foolish.

Io laughed. "He did."

"You must’ve thought me an imbecile," I said, closing my eyes and groaning.

"Far from it. Jhol had already told me enough about you to prove that was not the case."

My eyes shot open. "What did he tell you? How did he know anything about me?" I demanded.