Page 162 of The Dragon Queen Complete Series Collection

Chapter 161

“They’re killing unborn dragons?”

Draven’s stricken expression was a mirror of our own. Now that the Harlstonians were gone, the horror of what they’d done seemed to sink in. Glimmer crept closer as did the surrounding dragons, Vigilance included. He seemed a little abashed, but the dragons made no move to exclude him. A low hum started up, forcing me to look for its source, but it was everywhere. Each dragon sang in that moment.

They didn’t kill my brother. Glimmer was at the forefront, her claw reaching out to tap the eggshell before her claw jerked backwards, only an act of will keeping her where she was. Well, not deliberately . She looked across the crowd, finding my eyes, and I knew what she was thinking. Of her own close call with death at Arabella’s hands. Moving the eggs from the hatching sands, transporting them all that way. They tried to ensure they all survived for what the thieves have planned, but…

Some didn’t survive , I finished for her. Sacrificed for Harlstonian greed. His death was accidental? Glimmer nodded slowly. But it won’t be in vain. We took down Raina, ended her rule. We’ll do the same for the duke.

Draven was of the same mind.

“Wing commanders, officers, my wing, in the war room, now.” There was nothing gentle, nothing tentative, in his manner. “Pippin…”

This was when he turned to me and pulled me close, led me into the war room to stand by his side. I was no use to him having been taught nothing about military strategy other than that which you read about in a history book, but I…. I needed to feel like I was a part of this. Those eggs, that little queen, they were more than just pawns, but innocent little creatures who had no understanding of what was going on around them. Instead, my king’s hand landed on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“Go back to the palace where my guards can protect you.”

“No—”

“Or stay here in the keep,” he amended. “We will be some time. Perhaps you should retire to the wing’s chambers?”

To wait for them, that went unsaid. My spine snapped straight in response.

“I…”

What was I going to do, insist I be a part of the planning? That’s not what queens did. The trouble was I knew intimately all the things we weren’t supposed to do.

And none of what we were supposed to.

“Go, my king,” I said, putting on a smile like I might a dress. “Find us a way out of this mess.” He nodded, ready to pull away, but I moved to hold his gaze. “One that doesn’t end up with any more innocents being sacrificed.”

“I’ll try.”

A gentle kiss was pressed to my forehead, but it was the lack of confidence in his tone that caught my attention. Draven seemed to think he could do anything at all if he put his mind to it, so seeing doubt of any kind just exacerbated my own anxieties. We couldn’t give voice to them, not when everyone else looked on, and that’s when I realised what my role was. To create an aura of certainty, because while skill and logic and clever tactics could win the day, belief was just as potent a weapon. As a result, I smiled as they all filed past, the general barking orders at any other rider who wasn’t otherwise occupied.

Which just left Glimmer, myself and the dragons standing on the roof with a couple of riders assigned to be our protection.

“Highness, did you wish to return to the palace?” one of them asked me almost hopefully.

Where does this sense of being a queen come from? I asked my dragon, ignoring the man’s request. How do you know what to do, how to act?

I just know , she replied, heading towards the stairs.

Is this because you are a dragon seer? Do you see what you must do and then do it?

I felt a note of hope at that, ignoring the almost inaudible sigh from the dragonriders as they followed us into the keep. Perhaps Glimmer could foresee my path out of this madness.

Nothing is that clear. I see… the past, present, and future but only in glimpses. She turned midway down the steps to stare back at me. In some ways, my visions are more of a distraction than anything. If they are useful, many times I can’t see it. My instincts tell me what to do. Her eyes flicked over me, as if searching for something. Yours will do the same, if you learn to listen to them.

Search for the answers within? I barely suppressed a huff of frustration at that pat phrase, because I knew what my instincts told me. Collect my dragon and my men too, the lot of us riding off into the sunset and towards my family estate. Deepacre was far away from war, court, the keep, everything, and we would be safe there. That’s what I wanted, but instead, I raced down the stairs, brushing past Glimmer until she took wing and flew down beside me.

If your instincts tell you what to do, then why did you need to consult with Cynane? I asked. Surely when your time comes to mate and bear young, those instincts will inform you what needs to be done.

I could hear her amusement inside my head.

I’m sure they will, but sometimes one needs to converse with another, discuss their experiences and learn from them. Even if Cynane had no useful advice to pass on, the sharing… Glimmer landed in front of me. That is always worthwhile.

“Where to, Highness?” my guard asked me. “To your chambers? We can have a meal sent up and?—”

“To the hatching sands,” I replied in a far more definite tone than I would’ve been capable of moments before. “Men meet to discuss war, well, queens… they need to consult with each other as well.”

My guards seemed to sense that coming onto the hatching ground’s sands would be a mistake. The shift of Cynane’s dragon mates made that clear. They emerged from the shadows like snakes, with all of that deadly intent, but paused when Glimmer and I stepped forward. Muzzles dropped low, eyes closed, and if I wasn’t mistaken, this was a mark of respect. Glimmer treated it as so, marching forward, her head held high. I took her lead, doing the same, even as those very instincts Glimmer talked about went into riot, alerting me to the fact I was in very real danger. I focussed on the burning sands, the heat stifled by the soles of my boots. I focussed on the smell, the close scent of snakes nesting, and then as we got closer, I focussed on her.

The hatching sands got some natural light from a hole in the cavern roof and what spilled into the space seemed to be absorbed by her. Hadrian shifted beside his mate, lifting his head to take us in, but when he saw that the riders didn’t join us, he settled back down, nestling his head into Cynane’s, which had her eyes flicking open.

She was dying, that was my first hysterical thought. The proud, scarred queen of before was somehow smaller, darker, dulled. Her claws were slowly thrust forward and her head rose, but even I saw the strain.

Pippin and Glimmer. Back so quickly, young queen?

Her voice was melodious as it filled my head, and it was then I heard a note I hadn’t before. Some of the exhaustion, tenderness, and amusement my own mother’s voice had contained, right up until the point she died.

Cynane…! Stepping forward and sketching a curtsey, that was instinctive rather than what I forced my body to do when Draven and I were attending court events. Forgive me for not coming to see you earlier, my queen. I… My mind searched for a solution to the problem I now saw. Can I bring you food or water? Hadrian snorted at that, making clear he had already made sure his queen had everything she needed. Perhaps… a doctor?

That was incredibly rude, but I couldn’t help but take in her sunken flanks, the now dull-bronze scales laying almost loosely over her frame.

So I look as bad as all that? she replied and then settled her head back on her massive claws. Her eyes remained open, still bright despite her condition. No, I fear no physician, human or dragon, can help me with this. I was alive when human queens and dragon queens ruled Nevermere. I saw the first of your kind come to this island when I was little more than a hatchling. I have seen peace, treachery, felt happiness and sorrow, and now… I am old and I come to the end of my life.

My heart…

My eyes burned as I stared at Hadrian, watching his head nuzzle hers, a caress she couldn’t do much more than tolerate, though I knew love when I saw it.

I have served my country all my life and I do so with my last breath . She shifted then, revealing a swollen belly. I will not live to see my children grow, so I must entrust their care to you and the young seer.

You already have my promise, Glimmer told her, then she turned to me expectantly.

Of course. Whatever you need , I replied, aware I was stumbling into the same trap as before.

Draven had cursed us for creating alliances with political entities without considering the implications, but if he wanted a queen who was well versed in the ways of court, he should’ve married Beatrice. I was raised to live in the country, lady of cows and fields of wheat, not queen of all Nevermere.

You will know, when the time comes, Cynane said, letting out a gusty sigh. Breeze created little whirls of sand, spiralling off before dissipating. But you did not come to discuss my state. Ask your question, young dragon queen.

I swallowed, wanting to pretend that she meant Glimmer, but that was the thing about dragons. They saw straight into your heart. Knowing that made me bold.

What do I do, great queen? A broken dragon egg was delivered today. Cynane’s mates shifted restlessly, a low rattling sound making clear their discontent. Our enemies have made clear that if we make a move against them, they will kill each dragonling in the shell. Yet if we do not, they will employ the same methods used to enslave Zafira on the next young queen dragon. And I…?

I thought of the tannery and that little moment of feeling useful. Not very useful, my cutting skills still awful, but at least I was doing something. Struggling towards the creation of just one gimbal, one useful device riders would then use to loose explosives that would destroy everything in their path. My hands rose and fell.

I’m supposed to be queen and I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do.

Service… That thought was like a sigh, faint enough to make me wonder if I heard the dragon queen or my own heart. Service is always misunderstood.

Cynane’s eyes flicked open again, making clear she was talking to me.

It is not to be mistaken for the compliance that the cruel and powerful can wring from those weaker than them. True service looks at the needs of the people and then strives to do what they can to meet some of them, proportionate to their resources and position. A queen has more than most, so she must do the most.

I took in Cynane’s state and saw that this was true.

I cannot tell you what you must do, little human queen , she continued. I do not understand your kind. Humans seem so weak, so fragile and yet they manage to use their sheer numbers to do great things… Her exhale sent the sands swirling. Or terrible ones. As queen, perhaps you could try and ensure the former, not the latter, is what happens during this war.

I knew what the terrible was. Those white bones buried in the dirt of Finder’s Dell, that explosion. It wasn’t hard to see human cities being demolished by dragonfire, not dragon ones. But something great? My mind raced, thinking of the dragons, the little queen dragonling, and freeing them from certain tyranny.

Ensuring all dragons born in Nevermere could exist without that threat hanging over their heads.

I struggled to put it together, when a familiar masculine voice cut through the silence.

“Well, well.” I spun around to see Marcus bloody Lighthands emerge from the shadows of gods knew which tunnel. His wide grin made clear he knew he was making an entrance. “I came to pay court to one queen and ended up finding three.” Hadrian moved instantly, putting himself between Marcus and his mate. “Now, there’s no need for alarm. I just brought a case of that fish your lady seemed to like.”

Tuna?

Hadrian sniffed at the barrel that Marcus rolled forward, reaching a claw out as the man danced forward and then prised off the lid. The strong smell of fish filled the cavern, and that seemed to bring Cynane back to life. Her head jerked up, and she was moving in slow, ponderous shifts to get closer to the barrel.

“What the hell are you—?” I started to hiss at him.

Your gift is acceptable , Hadrian said, backing away from the fish now that it had passed his inspection. What do you wish to speak of today, little man? History, politics, your increasingly complex ideas about governing this country?

My hands went to my hips as I stared Marcus down.

“All of that and more,” Marcus replied with a low bow, “but for now, I think we’ll let the queen eat her fill, while I speak to the other queens.”

He might’ve only had one eye, but that single green orb contained all the world’s mischief within it. His lips twitched as he gestured to the side of the cavern.

“I bear news for the human queen.” A sheaf of paper was produced and waved through the air, as if bait to entice me forward. “Papers she might find very interesting.”

“There’s nothing you have that I could possibly want to read,” I snapped, but acting rashly in front of Marcus was always ill-advised.

“No?” He made a show of shoving the papers back inside his frock coat. “Then I guess I’ll take this divorce decree and go on my way.”