Page 149 of The Dragon Queen Complete Series Collection

Chapter 148

The procession from the palace to the church was like some terrible dream.

The city was usually a bustle of activity, the noise of it hard for me to adjust to after living all my life on my country estate, but now? I looked around, the silence growing thicker and denser by the second. The people of Nevermere had come out in force to mark the passing of their monarchs. Face after face turned into a blur, caps pulled off, heads lowered.

All but theirs.

Marcus stood in the crowd, several feet back from the road.

No forelock tugging for him, he stared across the heads of those crowded around him, a smirk spreading across his face. Draven caught the way I stiffened, following my gaze. His hand snapped out, gripping mine as he sucked in a breath, ready to break the silence. I tugged on his hand, shaking my head. A nod made clear that Marcus hadn’t come alone.

Lance looked so much older. This was a man standing by the side of the road, not a boy anymore. Jenkins was still too small, something that now made my teeth ache. Billy and Harley stood by their sides, arms crossed. I saw curiosity and question in their expressions, as well as some accusation. It was the pain in their eyes that had my throat working, my lips moistening, ready to say something, anything. I didn’t speak, instead raising a fist and then slapping it down on my chest in the salute we’d all learned as cadets. Marcus frowned as Jenkins looked at Lance, as if waiting for a cue as to how to react, but Lance returned the gesture, even sparing me a small smile. Marcus caught the exchange between us, frowning before drawing the boys away.

We passed them as well, the church looming larger the closer we got until finally we drew to a stop. Riders marched from their position in the circle that had formed around the church courtyard, approaching the two coffins. As they shouldered them, carrying the coffins into the church, Draven took my hand and helped me from the carriage. He went to do the same for Glimmer, but she launched herself from the side of the carriage, fluttering down to the ground. A small titter in the crowd rose but was quickly stifled before we turned to follow the coffins inside.

I’d attended the funerals of both my parents. They weren’t kings and queens, and somehow that leant their passing more humanity. The people who attended their funerals were all known to them, not beautifully dressed strangers who walked behind us into the church. At my father’s funeral, a few local lords and ladies and several merchants came to pay their respects, but now? The rich and powerful filed in after us, taking their places in the pews, social hierarchy determining where they sat.

Which left us to sit at the front.

I had sobbed hysterically the morning of my mother’s funeral, something my father had a quiet word to me about. “I need you to be strong for me, Pippin.” I stared into his eyes as he knelt down to my level, wiping away my tears. “Just until we lay her to rest.” His own voice broke on that. I clung to his hand then as he went on. “The funeral is for the people. Our grief is just for us.”

He’d held me afterwards, lending me the strength to get through the day, which had my eyes sliding sideways. It felt like I’d studied the side of Draven’s face so many times, but I saw things now I’d missed before. A tightness around his mouth, fine lines forming around his eyes and a rigidity to his neck, as if it took near constant effort to hold his head up. I wanted to kneel down before him, pull him close and lend him my strength, as my father did me. I wanted to tell him that once this was done, we could grieve together, but we didn’t have that kind of relationship yet. Draven was as high-handed as any prince might be, but sometimes… I think he must’ve tired of always being in control. As if sensing my train of thought, he turned then, staring right back.

Draven was a stranger, a lover, a complex person I didn’t fully understand. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, that’s what I thought as I gazed into his eyes. Before I could say something, anything, some banal, belated muttering of condolences, Glimmer scrambled up onto the pew between us, looking at each person in turn. He dared to smile then, just a little, and as before, it made his face so radiant it hurt my heart. I matched that tiny smile with my own, then settled my hand on my dragon’s spine, turning to watch the high priest step forward. Flanked by all the priests and priestesses of the many gods worshipped here, the wizened old man stood at the lectern as the coffins were set down on the bier before him.

“We gather today to mark the passing of our beloved king and queen,” the priest said. “To lose one monarch is a tragedy, but the loss of two?” The old man’s eyes came to rest on Draven. “This is a pain beyond measure, something our new king feels the most keenly…”

Did he? My hand slid across his thigh and took hold of his. Draven gripped mine tightly, like a man clinging to a rope when thrown overboard. That was the only indication I received of what he felt. He kept everything locked away, as if sharing what lived within him would somehow contaminate everyone around him.

And ruin the perfect image he’d worked hard to construct.

That’s what it was to be crown prince, now king. It wasn’t enough for him to lead well, but he had to convince people with his appearance that he had it all together, lest people lose confidence in him. That’s why he was dressed in his beautifully tailored uniform and me in mine. We weren’t allowed to be people, just symbols.

I would never see him like that, I wanted to say, but of course, I couldn’t. That his mother was cruel, intent on gaining yet more power and murderous with it, and that it would be perfectly understandable if he hated her. That King Magnus was… a puppet that stopped moving the moment his strings were cut, leaving his son to deal with the aftermath, and that was grossly unfair. I stared at him, willing him to see it, and that’s when his focus shifted back to me.

We were actors on the stage with all eyes upon us, but for just this moment, the whole world dropped away. There was just Draven, just Pippin.

Tell him , I said to Glimmer. Tell him he’s not alone.

He knows that , she replied. Darkspire knows that.

No, you have to tell him…

What? My brain failed me then as a mass of thoughts and emotions rushed forward. Maybe that’s what had my hands thrusting into the pockets of my dress to find a crystal egg nestled there. It was warmer than normal, driving the chill from my bones, and as I squeezed it tightly, I thought hard on what I wanted to say.

They are gone, but we are here. His brow jerked up, making clear he heard what I was thinking. I am here. You’ll never be alone like that again. No one will be able to hurt you that way.

That last bit came out as a feral growl as my heart beat too fast in my chest.

Are you threatening to slay my enemies for me, warrior queen?

His thoughts were just like his voice, a curious mix of feline amusement and human vulnerability.

I wish I was the one to kill Raina, not Zafira. Her end came too swiftly after what she did.

But it ended , he replied. He held my gaze, a real softness developing there. Pain, but also relief, blessed relief. For a time, I wondered if it ever would. She was like a cancer that was eating me, the entire country whole, and now she has been cut out. I know you expect me to grieve.

No, I ? —

Yes, Pippin. He inclined his head slightly. Everyone with functional parents does, but… I’m glad they’re gone. It’s only royal protocol that stops me from tossing the royal remains onto the nearest dung pile. I will get through this with you at my side, and then…

We both looked up when a dragon rider approached with the folded flags that had been draped over the coffins. Brom stood there, looking darkly resplendent, and I couldn’t help but see his outstretched hand as something else.

An olive branch perhaps?

But rather than tug Brom closer, Draven rose and I did as well, signalling to everyone that the service was at an end and now the burial would take place.

Nevermerian kings and queens weren’t committed to the earth. They were creatures of fire and air, just like their dragons were. The coffins were carried into the courtyard and placed on carefully constructed piles of logs. People began to murmur, knowing what was coming.

This is the important part , Draven told me. This is where we make a difference. I can tolerate the inadequacies of my parents if I know I can right the wrongs they committed.

“Today we mark the deaths of my father and my mother, the king and the queen of all Nevermere.” His voice rang out through the crowd, and it was a different one to the one he used with me. “But we are gathered here to commemorate the end of more than just their lives.” He was every inch the prince, no, the king, as he surveyed his people. “The Nithian dynasty brought an unprecedented period of peace to our country.” That, that was what he cared about, I felt that keenly. “One the man I called uncle seeks to destroy. He wishes to thrust us into a war.”

The silence was broken by more than just his speech. People weren’t quiet and respectful now. Instead, they grew restless in the face of a threat.

“I will not allow my parents’ deaths to be in vain.” Despite the fact that Raina was the Duke of Harlston’s co-conspirator. “And I will not allow their legacy to be destroyed by one man’s greed!”

He gripped my hand as he jerked his sword out with the other, raising the point to the sky. At that moment, dragons flew up from behind the church, led by Darkspire. People gaped openly now, watching their path, then tracking those that landed on the ground around the pyres.

Cloud Raker was one of them. Ged jumped off his dragon’s back and stood beside him, several other red or orange dragons joining him in a loose circle. People instinctively pulled back.

“I return my parents to the air, to fire, but know this. We will burn away the past…” The dragons’ jaws opened, a hot wind instantly starting to whip at our faces. “So we might protect the future from anything that threatens to take it from us!”

I truly believed him then but I didn’t know why. There was nothing he said in his speech that he hadn’t spoken aloud before, but Draven… He was a prince born, and that showed now. Every eye was upon him, even as the dragons surged forward. Through the blasts of flames, he was a golden figure, strong and defiant, the perfect leader everyone could get behind, as was evidenced by the cheers from the crowds.

He is a strong male , Glimmer told me. One that seeks to secure our territory. He was quite annoying before, but… I think you may keep him.

I think I may , I replied as Draven stepped forward. He produced a belt knife before sawing a length of his hair off, the black strands fraying as soon as they were cut free. He tossed them to the wind, to the fire, to burn away in a traditional sign of respect.

One I’d need to emulate.

I thought of Raina as I took Draven’s knife, of the way she sneered at me, of her horrific hold over Zafira, as I cut the ends of the wig free. Fake hair, a fake gesture, it made sense to me as I let the strands fly, watching them curl on the wind as they were singed and then burned away.

Is it done? Draven sounded exhausted. Have we kept up the pretence for long enough?

If you wish it to be done, then it is, I replied, staring at him as the crowds cheered. You are king.

Not yet then. He took my hands and drew me closer, each centimetre feeling somehow forbidden. More cheers, more shouts from the crowd, as our lips hovered over each other. I told you not to hold today against me, and I fear I must ask you to fulfil that promise, because there’s yet more to do.

More? I glanced back at the pyres, now burned down to ash that was scattered by the gusts of air stirred by the dragons’ wings. What more is there?

A wake will be held under the stars , he said. The aristocrats will tell themselves that it's a nod to my parents’ sky burial, but… The far off bugle of a dragon had us all turning around. We frowned as we sought its source but didn’t see anyone. Dragons flew the sky, but that was to be expected. The general had not spared a man from his duties today. Today I put my parents to rest, but tonight I must identify those who would seek to threaten the stability of this country.

“You’re…?” My throat worked, feeling dry and rusty as I spoke rather than thought my reply.

“Before the end of the wake, each of the assassins will be identified and brought to justice, that I promise.”

I believed him because that was his gift. Draven could persuade anyone to do anything, and now he was talking me into following him into some kind of investigation. Glimmer climbed onto Darkspire’s back when he landed, Draven helping me climb into the saddle before we took off as well. We circled the palace once, twice, three times before coming into the courtyard, the rest of the wings’ dragons landing beside us.

“So.” Brom pulled off his gloves and then shoved them into his pocket. “How exactly are we going to do this?”