Page 37 of The Dragon Queen #3
We were riding out to war, and I felt completely unprepared for it.
Each member of the wing slept that night at the keep, Draven included, and that was somehow disorientating.
“Got your bedrolls packed?” Soren barked, already having organised his kit, his uniform, his insignias regulation perfect as he stood in the middle of the room. “Water flasks... Flynn, don’t shove your shirts in your bag like that!”
“I’m fairly sure the enemy isn’t going to care if my gear is packed neatly or not,” Flynn shot back, but he stopped what he was doing and pulled everything out, barely suppressing a sigh as he re-packed it.
“Ready for inspection, cadet?” Soren smiled at me as I stood beside my bed, my arms behind me, my back ramrod straight. “Our newest recruit has gotten herself ready faster than you idiots, and you’ve been with the wing for years.”
There were traitorous mutters from the others as he crossed the room, but I couldn’t focus on them, not while Soren inspected me closely. Hands went to my collar, twitching it slightly as he inspected my insignias. I’d polished each one to a mirror shine, a small crown added to them to mark my rank. “Perfect,” he said, then straightened the seams of my tunic slightly, tugging it to fit slightly better before stepping back and looking at my bag. “Perfect in every way.”
“Sucking up to the drill sergeant.” Ged appeared at Soren’s shoulder, resting his elbow on the other man, only for Soren to shove him off. “I see how it is.”
“Everyone will need to see what we need them to see.”
Only those who knew him could hear the tension in Draven’s voice. He finished packing his own bag and slung it over his shoulder, and that’s when I saw that he was exactly the king we needed right now. I couldn’t imagine his father rising from his throne, let alone being ready to lead a force to war, but Draven? He was the perfect combination of monarch and career soldier. If I was willing to follow him anywhere, surely everyone else would be too?
“We will provide a united front.” Draven was using the same speech patterns he deployed when stirring the troops. “I will walk out there in front of the entire capital and lead our forces into battle with my queen at my side, my wing at my back.”
“The general wants a word before we go before the people,” Brom said quietly.
“Doesn’t he always?” Draven’s eyes softened as he turned towards our lover. “If he brings up the divorce again…”
“Again?” I asked, in time to watch Draven draw Brom’s head down towards his. Their mouths hovered over each other’s.
“Don’t worry, love. Draven’s made clear that no papers will be signed,” Soren told me. “Those certifying your marriage will be held within a royal vault, safe from prying eyes.”
“I’ll fucking kill the general in front of the entire city,” Brom said in a low voice.
“Then let’s avoid that.”
Draven tried to bring him closer for a kiss. That’s what sweethearts did when one of them marched off to war, but Brom’s eyes slid to me, not Draven. I hated it, but he seemed to be almost asking for permission. I nodded, my hands clasped against my chest, as if it was me who waited for his kiss, and that seemed to be enough. Brom tried to give our king a chaste kiss, but Draven would never stand for that. He dragged Brom’s mouth down, kissing him in that hard, brutal fashion that marked their connection. Brom stepped back as soon as it was done, both their chests heaving.
“Enough of that,” Draven said, as if he wasn’t the instigator. “We need to get to the palace.”
“Right as I was about to throw our queen down on the bed and ravish her?” Flynn asked, hoisting his bag on one shoulder, then moving to do the same to me on the other. I shrieked, fighting to get free, when Brom stepped in.
“What we share, it can’t leave this room.” He stared us all down, making clear it was the wing commander we faced, not the man. “That will be much, much harder in the field. We must show restraint.” He slapped his fist down on his chest. “Our strength comes from our joint purpose.”
“So we fight now so we might fuck freely later?” Ged swept in and smacked a kiss on my lips. “Well, that’s something to get me fired up to fight Harlstonians. Are we doing this or not?”
Apparently, we were. It felt like the entire city was there to watch us march out. People thronged the streets, cheering and waving, the ranks of the infantry already standing in formation, ready to leave. They were waiting on us, the sounds of the crowd intensifying as the entire flight of the Royal Riders came to land in the massive space left clear for this purpose.
“Majesty.” General Rex gave Draven a curt salute as we walked over, and he ignored me entirely. “Have you had time to think about my proposal?”
“To leave my queen behind to keep the home fires burning?” Draven cocked an eyebrow and smirked as he looked back at me. “Why don’t you get on Herald’s back?” He nodded to the general’s dragon. “See how far you get without the queen and Glimmer.”
My dragon was sitting beside us, perched on Darkspire’s neck, her eyes half closed as she was soaking in the early morning sun. We’d made sure to feed the beasts well last night to ensure their energy was up when we moved out. The general cast Glimmer an irritated look, then marched up to his dragon .
No doubt he’d climbed into the saddle many times, and today he thought things would go as they usually did. He directed the dragon to rise up, I’m sure, but a snicker went through our wing as his beast ignored him completely. That laughter spread across the riders around us as the general tried kicking his heels into the dragon’s ribs, as if the big lunk was just a headstrong stallion, not a massive saurian. At some point, Rex looked around, realising that he had an audience watching his failure closely. He slid from the saddle and marched back to us, face a dangerous shade of red.
“The queen dragon is always the most important member of the Royal Riders,” Draven said before Rex could say a word. “She is the heart, the soul, of our force. It is for her that all our dragons ride out. To retrieve the stolen eggs, to save the baby queen dragon from being enslaved as well, but mostly.” He looked over at my dragon, then smoothed his hand down Darkspire’s neck. “It’s for Glimmer that we ride. Leaving someone in my stead is good advice.”
“Cousin!”
Stefan came running up, tugging at his much grander jerkin before stopping before the king.
“Punctual as ever.” Draven wrenched a signet ring off his hand, the same one his father had worn, and then handed it to his cousin. “Though being on time for such a momentous event might go some way to building greater confidence in your stewardship.”
“Forgive me.” Stefan bowed deeply. “Before this, I just had to make sure the family estate didn’t blow up. I was doing the same with the first shipment of dragonfire. The ice dragons?—”
“Water dragons, cousin,” Draven corrected gently.
“Those big, blue bastards,” Stefan replied. “They’ve iced the first lot of explosives and will be responsible for ferrying them to and from the battlefield.”
“Which is my cue to leave.” Flynn took a step towards me, as if he could kiss me farewell with the same freedom we did behind closed doors. The general’s brows drew down into a scowl, and that stopped the two of us cold. “I’ll see the lot of you at the border tonight,” Flynn finished hastily, sketching the briefest of bows before jumping on Glacier’s back. His dragon had leave to go apparently, because they took to the air quickly, as did the other blue dragons.
“Look after things while I’m gone,” Draven advised Stefan. “The instructions are similar to those you followed at the estate. Keep the capital from blowing up and you’re doing things right.”
“Make sure everyone keeps their cool? Got it,” the man said. “And you’ve got your own supply of dragonfire to keep you safe?”
“In the insulated container we found in the vaults,” Draven said, patting Darkspire’s saddlebags.
My eyes widened as I stared at the bulging leather satchels, trying to see past it to what was inside them. Stefan was distracted, staring at the signet ring for a second, then slid it onto his finger, holding it up to the light to watch the gold shimmer, but my focus was on something else just as shiny.
Ready? I asked Glimmer.
Ready. Now we go to retrieve the rest of the dragon eggs, freeing them from human tyranny.
She sounded every inch the queen, I just wondered how we’d achieve the same end after the eggs were placed safely back on the hatching sands.
“People are putting their loved ones on the line to restore peace to Nevermere,” Draven told Rex. “The queens riding with me makes clear I do the same.”
“You didn’t even allow him to respond,” I whispered as my king led me to Darkspire’s side. One look over Draven’s shoulder made clear how the general was taking this news. “The man is furious.”
“The man needs to remember who is king here.”
We paused then, and for just a second, I held myself back, but that’s when I remembered. This was the one relationship I was allowed to acknowledge in public.
“You’re being very masterful.” The tension in his lips reduced and they quirked up at one corner. “I don’t think anyone would mistake you for anything other than a king right now. ”
His arm went around me and that seemed to be a signal. People rushed in from the sidelines, thrusting flowers, tokens, packages into the arms of their loved ones, kissing them, hugging them, because they didn’t know if this would be the last time.That had me holding Draven tight, clinging to him and he let out a little huff of surprise.
“And you know I’d never allow anyone to force me to leave you behind, my queen.”
I kissed him then, like I was one of the women forced to watch her man march out. Somehow, it felt like if I did this, I would keep Draven, all my men safe.
“As if you could prevent me from coming,” I growled, which only made him laugh. Those blue eyes, they crinkled at the corner as he stared down at me.
“What a fierce queen you have become.”
I leant into his hand when he touched my face, but whatever moment we were having, it wouldn’t be shared for long.
“My king!”
I might be able to make clear how I felt about Draven in public, but that had its own issues. Everyone wanted some of his time and never more than now.
“Bloody hell…”
My king was about to kiss me, but instead was forced to pull away and see to what the latest issue was.
And I was left to stare out across the courtyard.
It wasn’t a patriotic celebration anymore, it was a leave taking. Flags littered across the ground as the rider’s families, as the soldier’s clung to their sides. I didn’t have any family to come and see me off, but I did have a visitor.
“All those soldier boys ready to trot off to war.”
I spun around to see Marcus standing there. He smirked at my expression, then followed my gaze as I looked around wildly for protection.
“If you think you’re going to kidnap me again–”
“Not that, lass. I’ve got a gift.”
“There’s nothing I want from you.” I jerked my belt knife out and held it firm, but that just made his smile widen .
“This you will.” He jerked a piece of parchment from his tunic and waved it around like it was a lure and I was a fish. “Going into Harlston, that’s risky.” Marcus glanced back at the crowd. “Some of those boys, they’re gonna die.”
“To protect their country,” I snapped. “To protect the dragons. A noble sentiment, I’m sure that is completely foreign to you.”
“Only for them young dragons to be enslaved,” he told me, suddenly serious. “Made to fit into a role from the moment they’re born, something the common man can sympathise with, I think.” Suddenly, he was close, thrusting the parchment scroll at me, my hands forced to go up and snatch it out of his grip. “You’ll be in danger, little queen, and that, milady, is a map most men of my ilk would step over their grandmothers to get their hands on. Shows all the smugglers’ routes, the safe houses and hideouts. If the worst happens…”
I felt a cold breeze play over my skin, forcing me to shiver despite the thick leather of my uniform.
“If the worst happens, then you’ll have exactly what you want,” I said. “No Royal Riders to meddle with your plans. No king to get in your way.”
“Better stay safe then,” he said, backing off with a wink. “You go and save the country from a civil war, and I’ll…” He looked around with a self-satisfied smirk. “I’ll look after things at home.”
“Pippin.” I spun around to find Draven standing there wearing a dark expression. It wasn’t me he was focussed on, but the companion who’d inserted himself into my presence. Marcus was gone by the time I turned around. “What the hell did that bastard want?”
“Time to go, my king,” Rex called out as he climbed back into Herald’s saddle. “The infantry is moving out.”
“Nothing,” I replied, because what could I say? “Marcus wanted nothing.”
“Nothing, hmm…? We’ve got a long ride to the border of Harlston. We’ll talk about exactly what that nothing is on the way.”
I scrambled up into the saddle and Draven followed suit. One arm went around my waist, tugging me close, while his other hand went to his sword hilt. Riders everywhere moved to mount up as well, dragons shifting all over the courtyard. It was the same one where the assassins were exposed, and I hoped all of this would have a much happier ending. The people’s cheers got louder, right as Draven’s sword was pulled out and held pointed to the sky. Darkspire, the rest of our wing, mobilised, the dragons rising up on their feet. ‘Spire’s wings fluttered as all his muscles began to clench in anticipation.
The people couldn’t hear Draven over the noise, but the riders could.
“We ride out every day to keep our beloved country safe, and never has that burden been heavier than it is today. The man I called uncle did more than just end the lives of my parents. He stole the lives of so many people’s loved ones, but beyond that, our futures. There are dragons still in the egg, far from the warmth of the hatching sands. The gods only know if they’re still alive, but we ride out to demand answers and to take out on the duke’s worthless hide in retribution for everyone and everything he’s harmed.”
When he thrust his arm up into the air, every dragon rider did the same. I almost felt about for my own sword, but that wasn’t my purpose. Males protected and Glimmer and I needed to sit pretty and be the pretext for their actions.
It’s more than that , she informed me. Males of all species strive to win the attention of the females. This is their way to gain our favour.
In the vain hope that Glimmer, that I might look their way, men would march out, fly out and meet the enemy in his den. I couldn’t help but remember the way the dragons screamed as they fell to earth. How many of them would fall? The thought was an unwelcome intruder as each dragon rose up, taking wing after us, then flying forward.
There was only one way to find out.