Page 91 of The Dragon Queen Complete Series Collection

Chapter 90

“Well, I’ll be damned…” Ged murmured in my ear, as we landed on a massive flat expanse of rock that seemed to have been laid here for just this purpose.

It’d taken us two days to reach here. We’d been forced to spend the night at one of the prince’s estates in Cantlyn for fear we’d drop from the saddle from exhaustion. But by mid-morning we were in the air again, keeping on until we reached the Needletooth Mountains, named for the sharp, spiky formations of rocks that ran along the spine of each peak. We’d flown right into that daunting mass of stone, the entrance to the landing pad not apparent until we were almost on top of it. Perfect for a dragon hide-out.

As our dragons came to a stop we saw the scores of countless claw marks in the stone, great furrows created by others of their kind here, giving credence to Draven’s claim. Here be dragons. But as we slipped from the saddles, we noticed far more that differed about this place. Carved statues of stylised dragons stood either side of the landing pad, carved in the same style as those sculptures I’d seen in the ruins Flynn had taken me too, though these were carved on a scale not for a human eye but for a dragon’s. They towered above us, each of our beasts looking up to notice them as we walked forward. Through a gateway ahead, we could see a complex of buildings.

My men hadn’t wanted to come here. They’d scoffed at Draven’s claim that wild dragons still existed, and for good reason. Queen Gloriana’s glorious forebears had been renowned for the skirmishes they fought with the various wild dragon clans. Dragons who owed no loyalty to humans, so they plundered our fields, our towns and our estates without compunction, burning, eating, destroying whatever they wanted. It was why the royal dragon corps was created in the first place, because in this case fire could only be fought with fire. But Hadrian, the last great king of the wild dragons, was slaughtered in battle by Queen Inara and she and her riders had then flown forth to… I peered at the craggy cliffs around us.

“This is—” I started to say to Ged. He’d held me close the entire way over here but he just nodded.

“A dragon settlement.”

Dragon Home , Glimmer told me in a much more decisive tone.

A dragon’s home? Are there dragons living here? I asked her.

No, Dragon Home . She wasn’t leaving out words, it was the title of this place, and somehow my dragon knew it.

Dragon Home is what it's called? So what is this place and how ? —?

A great thud had us all stopping where we were, dragon and human alike and when another thud came, the four riders of my wing pulled swords from scabbards which just made Draven shake his head. It soon became clear why, because the biggest damn dragon I’d ever seen came walking in through another massive gate, his wings flapping out to block the entrance.

And who have you brought to my settlement, young princeling?

The only dragon’s voice I’d ever heard was Glimmer’s, but this wasn’t my dragon’s voice. It was rich, masculine, and somehow I knew that it was weighed down with the knowledge of ages. When Draven dropped down on one knee, I found myself automatically doing the same, and so did the others.

“Great Hadrian,” Draven said, his voice one of perfect respect. “I bring some of my Royal Riders” —the dragon sniffed at that, obviously unimpressed— “and the young dragon I spoke of, Glimmer.”

“Hadrian…” Soren shot a look at me with a frown. “Hadrian died at the Battle of Two Queens.”

“Well, evidently the big bastard wasn’t told that,” Ged muttered, “because there he is.”

I dared a glance up and saw a massive set of amber eyes narrowing down. It seemed like Hadrian’s gaze cut straight through us. I fought the urge to lower my eyes, because the power this dragon wielded was palpable. But what was Glimmer’s response? I hissed at her when she took a step away from me, then another, striding across the plain of rock that dwarfed her as she got closer and closer to Hadrian. Then my eyes were drawn back to him, a shout of warning welling in my chest, as I saw his neck arch upwards, like a snake about to strike.

Glimmer! I shouted after her. Glimmer!

My dragon paid me no mind. She simply continued walking across the landing pad like a damn queen, head held high. And the rest of our dragons? They followed right on her heels, forming an honour guard for her as she approached. Hadrian’s head wavered like an executioner’s axe, and it wasn’t clear if it would fall or be set aside, as it seemed some dragonish conversation was being held. In response to Hadrian, Darkspire let out a low hiss of his acidic breath the closer he got. Wraith crackling with lightning, Glacier with ice, as Cloudy and Obsidian emitted small trickles of smoke from their nostrils, but when Glimmer stopped, they did too.

She was barely as big as Hadrian’s foot, but whatever spirit drove her, it was bigger than them both. She sat back on her haunches, fluttered her wings almost flirtatiously, then gazed up at the massive male dragon. And right when I thought my muscles would go into spasm due to how tight I was holding my body, the big dragon dropped his head right down, his whole body softening in an attitude of obeisance.

“Gods above…” Ged swore in little more than a whisper. “What the hell did she do?”

You can come forward now , Glimmer told me. It’s quite safe.

Is it now? I asked, hearing my mother’s frustrated tone in my mental voice. You might have discussed this ? —

The dragon seer has returned , Hadrian said, his voice cutting through my protest. Well done, little prince, you have brought us a treasure beyond measure.

Every day since I’d married Brom had been one of surprises, but none more so than today. I looked around me as we walked into a settlement, no, a town, the like of which I’d never seen before. For one, the scale of it was an eye opener. Buildings were so much taller and bigger, made to dragon scale, not human. But it wasn’t just a city made large. The purpose of each building was created for dragon kind.

Welcome to Dragon Home, companions of Lady Glimmer , Hadrian said with a bow, as other dragons stuck their heads out of broad windows or came to land on the crests of rooftops to take a closer look at us. A familiar humming sound started up in multiple throats in response to his greeting, our dragons doing the same.

“We thank you for your welcome”, Draven replied smoothly, the rest of us too dumbstruck to say a thing.

Hadrian sniffed at that and then turned tail, leading us further into the complex. This way. You will meet with the elders first.

Glimmer. I sent out a frantic message and she turned her head to look at me from over her shoulder, but continued to march after the massive dragon. Glimmer! I pushed my way through our cluster, weaving my way past Wraith then Cloudy to take up position by her side. Glimmer, what the hell is going on?

Destiny , was all she would reply.

Please, if you care for me at all, can you expand on that just a little?

When we touched the crystal egg for the first time, when we heard Tanis’ voice, I felt like I came back to myself. I wasn’t an animal to learn consciousness by your side, I was a fully formed being, as I should be. Tanis was the first dragon seer and I… Her confidence seemed to falter then. I think I’m the next.

I sucked in a breath, not even knowing what to say to that, even as my mind raced to put two and two together. For a dragon with little life experience, she seemed to possess such certainty about so many things. About who my mates should be and what would happen. About Zafira’s reactions and… I stared down at her, unable to take in the beauty of Dragon Home when faced with the magnitude of what I thought she was telling me.

Did you… foresee everything that happened to us? I asked.

Some, she admitted. And not in the way you think . She cast a wary eye my way, her scales glittering bright gold in the sunlight. I don’t wake up each day and know how all events will unfold. I just get… glimpses.

Glimpses?

I saw you with each one of your men , she said. All five of them.

Five? I have four, which is more than… My voice trailed away as I followed her gaze to where Darkspire and Draven led us forward.

No. No, Glimmer ? —

Darkspire is mine, just as the rest of the wing belongs to me and the rude one belongs ? —

No, I said, no, no, no.

He was supposed to kill you, not bring you here , she reminded me. His mother is the queen and she will not tolerate any competitors in her territory. You will have to fight her to prove your dominance like any other queen would, force her to acknowledge that you are a force to be reckoned with.

I am not fighting the damn queen of Nevermere!

They had their chance. She could have accepted me, Zafira’s daughter, as the next queen dragon. She could have accepted you as the prince’s mate, but he was never going to be enough for you on his own. She could’ve stopped what is to come , Glimmer insisted.

And what is to come? I asked her, so incredulous at this point I was feeling slightly hysterical. Near-death experiences and plots to overthrow the existing regime would do that to a girl.

Change , she replied, coming to a stop. When I looked up, I saw we were at a massive basin-like construction, one that was very similar to the one we flew to the night of Zafira’s heat. But this one was completely intact. The area acted like an amphitheatre and dragons flapped down as they landed and took up position around the rounded sides. Above that? A gallery had been built, just as there’d been in the ruin we’d visited. There were painted sculptures set into the walls but I couldn’t see them clearly from where we stood, though I did catch flashes of colour. The view of them was then blocked as several massive dragons filed along the gallery, stopping to look down on the rest of dragonkind.

What kind of change? I hissed as I watched the dragons settle.

Dragonkind and humankind must find a way to live together in harmony , she said, as if we didn’t already. As equal partners in the continued success of Nevermere.

And if we don’t? I asked, not wanting to know the answer.

Then only one will survive going forward. Humans or dragons, not humans and dragons.

She was only months old. She was a tiny little creature amongst all of these massive ones, so it would be easy to brush aside what she was saying, pass it off as the musings of a child, except for one thing. There was a wisdom to her gaze, that had been there since the moment we touched that crystal egg and I realised that I was mourning something I had lost that day.

Because my dragon didn’t look to me as a surrogate mother anymore. She didn’t need my constant care. She was a complex, complete creature, just as she was. She stepped forward then, out into the empty space, so that every eye was upon her. Some of the dragons began to hum as she took position, right in the centre of the amphitheatre.