Page 145 of The Dragon Queen Complete Series Collection

Chapter 144

“Don’t put her too close to the fire!” Soren dropped down by my side as I was lowered into an armchair. Ged moved in swiftly, picking me and the chair up and moving us a little further away from the crackling flames. “Now let’s have a look, lass.” Soren’s hands took mine in his and I could feel them as he turned my hands this way and that. “Still got good circulation.”

“How…?” Flynn came into view, staring at me with wide eyes. “Ice was crawling up your hand, encasing you… It was heading for your heart.”

He would not claim it. Glimmer clambered back into my lap, and I pulled away from Soren, wrapping my arms around her. He nodded, then went to work unlacing my boots. They were removed along with my socks. Your heart belongs to me, not him.

Did you see it? I asked her. Aisen ? —

Don’t say his name here, she said with a shudder. Don’t. He lies under the earth, but… uneasily . She pulled back to stare into my eyes. That’s why we are here? Darkspire’s bondmate hoards dragon blood?

“Is that what it is?” I was forced to clarify what I meant by that question when I asked it of Stefan. “Dragon’s blood?”

“Don’t know.” There was something stubborn about the man’s response, and sharp looks from my men had him rethinking his answer. “Look, no one ever really talks about it. Just don't stay down there too long, and if someone starts whispering in your head?—”

“Get out.” Caden looked too pale right now. “This place is cursed. Everyone knows that. It’s why we don’t have anyone hammering down our doors, trying to take what’s here.” He glanced at his older brother. “Just your luck, you’re getting out of here for a bit.”

“You need to keep your heads on straight,” Stefan growled, then looked at Callum. “Both of you.” His expression softened when his focus shifted back to me. “What do you need, Highness? Should’ve known you shouldn’t go touching things down there, but…” A strange look of longing filled his eyes. “I wanted to know. Part of me always has. That place might be cursed, but why?”

“I’ve seen what dragonfire does in a vision,” I replied, clasping the heavy blankets I’d been given closer around me. They were both a means to try and drive the cold from my bones and a buffer between the fire and my skin. It felt a little too hot, alive, flickering behind the grate. “I think I know what it is.” I blinked, unable to contradict what I’d seen and yet saying it out loud? Some primal part of me thought better of it, but I forced the words out. “It’s dragon’s blood. His blood.”

“Dragon’s blood?” Ged frowned. “How is dragon’s blood a weapon? Cloudy’s runs red, just like mine does.”

“And Darkspire’s burns holes in leather and organic material,” Brom replied.

“Glacier’s burns like ice.” Flynn yanked off his glove, revealing a thin scar on the edge of his hand. “He got me one day when we were learning manoeuvres. The master of water dragons tried to tell me, but I didn’t listen.”

“You learned your lesson,” Soren said with a nod.

“This dragon…” I looked around me. Did the earth shift restlessly, unable to remain reliably still when it covered an ancient threat? “He was… considerably more powerful than others. One of the old ones.” Each man stared at me in incomprehension, because they hadn’t seen it. “And you use his blood to make weapons.”

“Burns through anything organic except clay and metal,” Stefan replied. “Explodes on impact. It’s powerful stuff, more powerful than anything my cousin has in his armoury. For a long time we were the secret weapon of human queens, then when Gloriana took the throne, we decided we were done waiting in the shadows.” He stood up and so did his brothers, staring down at me. “One of our own was selected as the queen’s consort. Enjoyed the soft life, he did, for a while, but why would he remain in the background, supporting a queen who couldn’t be bothered to rule?”

When he could be running things himself. I shook my head slowly, and that helped dispel the remains of the spell the past had cast over me. My toes flexed along with my fingers, making clear they were all in good working order.

Males can be dangerous. Glimmer shot Stefan and his brothers a wary look. Their drive to protect, to defend can sometimes go beyond what is appropriate. When they seek to control, to coerce, to ensure you stay safe, then what is the real threat? Her head tilted to one side. Them or the external danger?

“Don’t you worry your head, Highness,” Stefan continued. “I apologise for the funny turn you had down there, but as these fine riders have ascertained, my numbers are correct. We can start out at first light and see what my cousin intends to do about those bloody Harlstonians.”

Apparently, that’s what we’d do. We were given a serviceable room which had an excellent view of the desolate lands beyond. I stood by the windows, staring out at them, as my men brought our bags in.

“How’re you feeling?” Brom’s hands landed on my shoulders and I turned to stare at something far finer. “That was… terrifying.”

“You looked like you were going to become an icicle.” Ged tried to smile and failed.

“One that wasn’t telling the entire story down there.” Flynn crossed his arms. “Not that I’m complaining. Draven’s family… they’re a strange bunch.”

“One part lives in the city,” Brom explained, “providing support for the king when the nobles meet, but the others… They’ve stayed true to their origins, keepers of a valuable yet terrible resource.”

“Power is a terrible, wonderful thing…” Everyone stared as I quoted Tanis, so I sat down on the side of one of the beds. “This is what I saw.”

The others claimed their own seats, clustered around me and waited for the story to come out.

“So if the stuff is truly that destructive,” Ged said. We were all lying in bed now, having pushed the singled beds together to create one large one. “What does Draven propose to do with it?”

“We’ll find out when we return.” Soren sighed and then pulled me closer, tucking me under his chin. “Though I must say, what we know can’t become common knowledge. We don’t even know which of those lordlings killed their family to claw their way higher up the rungs of power.”

“Who murdered them, you mean.” Flynn’s voice was taut, so I reached across the pillows, finding his hand and giving it a squeeze. He returned the gesture, holding my sensitive fingers even after my arm began to ache. “That’s what we need to focus on next. All the war preparations in the world will come to naught if we don’t find the rats in our midst. I told Draven to let me loose Glacier on them. I’ll fly home, have every member of my house face my dragon, work out which one of them committed these heinous acts.”

“And why hasn’t he?” Brom’s reply was just as intense. “A dragon has to be directed to read the mind of someone to work out if they are guilty or not, and yet he has not done so.”

“Because he doesn’t want to go off half-cocked.” There was a note of reproof in Soren’s voice. “Everyone is on edge. Making accusations before his father is in the ground?—”

“Both our fathers.” I looked up over Soren’s shoulders, seeing Flynn’s eyes burning in the darkness. “Are we forgetting that? My father died as well, along with my brothers.”

“And Draven will bring them to justice.” I said that without thought, but once the words came out, I knew they were true. “This is a delicate time. We all must play our part.”

“And right now, that involves sleeping.” Soren tugged me back down into his arms and I settled in against his chest, letting my eyes fall closed. “We need to be well rested for the journey ahead, because I don’t think there’ll be much to be had once we land.”

“Unless you’ve got other ideas to relax us…?”

I heard Ged’s suggestion, caught the sly note to it, but it wasn’t enough to keep my eyes open. Exhaustion hit me hard, forcing me to melt into Soren. He held me close, making sure I knew I was secure, safe now, but… As I fell asleep, I couldn’t help but feel it. Icy fingers that plucked at the blankets we’d heaped on top of us, sliding over our skin, forcing us to shiver at some point in the night. Stefan and his brothers were right. This place was cursed and I’d be glad to see the back of it.

The next morning, we all convened in the courtyard outside the citadel.

“That dragon of yours can create ice?” Stefan asked Flynn, nodding to Glacier.

“As long as he has access to a water supply.”

We all watched with interest as a great barrel was brought closer, Glacier giving it a sniff.

“This.” Stefan held out the tiny vial that he’d taken from the storeroom and we all shrank back at the sight of it. “It’s stable enough in the bottle, as long as you don’t slosh it around too much.” He made a show of thinking further on this. “Or drop it. Ice helps make it much more secure, though.”

“Remind me why we’re flying a highly volatile liquid back to the capital?” Ged asked.

“It’s what my cousin asked for,” Stefan replied. “I think he wants to make a little display of power, remind people what he’s capable of.” He set the vial down very carefully on the ground, then stepped back. Glacier sucked down water, then shot a blast of ice at the vial, freezing it in a solid lump before it could even shift sideways. “Perfect.”

He nodded to some of his men, and they moved forward, producing an insulated box to store the ice encased vial in.

“So, shall we get under way?” Stefan rubbed his hands together as his brothers looked on sourly. “Who do I ride with?”

“Ged,” Soren and Flynn said instantly, causing the big man to push himself away from Cloudy’s side.

“I guess I’m the idiot ushering you to the city. Your steed awaits, milord.”

He gestured with a flourish to Cloudy’s saddle, the other man clambering up the dragon’s side with little grace.

“And you, wife?” Brom kept his voice pitched low. “With whom do you ride?”

Soren kept his face expressionless, but I saw the twinge of need in his gaze. Brom was intent, but it was Flynn I settled on. He didn’t dare look at me, as if it would reveal too much.

“On Glacier, it appears.”

Glimmer had already climbed up onto the blue dragon’s back, something that gave me pause for a second. It wasn’t hard to see quite a different blue dragon superimposed over Glacier, one who would’ve eyed Glimmer with quite a different kind of hunger.

“The little queen always had impeccable taste,” Flynn said, offering me his hand as I climbed up into the saddle. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” I had to resist the urge to lean back into his chest when he settled behind me. His hands went to the horn at the edge of the saddle, his hands placed at a perfectly polite distance away from mine. “We’ve got a long ride ahead of us. Whatever will we talk about on the way?”

“Your father.” He went perfectly still as Glacier lumbered to his feet. “Your brothers. Draven will avenge them, I promise, even if I have to force the issue myself.”

I heard his snort, felt his body unwind just a little.

“From your mouth to the gods’ ears,” he said.

I wanted to lance his pain like a boil, let it spill out into the clouds like Aisenbran’s blood, scouring the land below, not Flynn’s heart, but people heal on their own time. He would not, could not be drawn. Not until the bastards who killed his family were brought to justice, Flynn assured me. Then he could grieve. I kept that in mind as we spiralled down, the familiar sight of the capital coming into view.

“You’ve returned in one piece,” Draven said when I jumped down from Glacier. This was barely murmured into my ear, meant for me to hear alone. “I wasn’t entirely sure you’d survive my cousin’s tender mercies.”

“Well met, cousin,” a brash voice said. “Catch!”

Everyone sucked in a breath as Stefan tossed a leather bag across the courtyard. Draven made an ugly sound, leaping across the tiles, then throwing himself forward to snatch it from the air. He fell heavily, eyes going wide as Stefan burst out laughing.

“The dragonfire is in the very protected box,” he said, plucking the bag from Draven’s limp fingers. “This is my dice bag. Fancy a game?”

“Only if beating your arse is one of the stakes.” Draven jumped to his feet, giving the other man a shove, something Stefan returned, the two of them scuffling around until they fell apart, grinning.

“The high born are no different to cadets.” Soren shook his head slowly.

“No different to common-born lads,” Ged added. “Me and my cousins are just the same.”

“Let's get the reunion over and done with.” Flynn growled this under his breath. “Because once the frivolities are over, I want to know what Draven is doing about bringing the murderers to justice.”