Page 14 of The Storm of the Empire (Flyers Of The First Kingdom #3)

THIRTEEN

HAZEL

A fter the danger had passed, we crept from our cellar, hoping to look around while the priests were still below, but we were too late. They were moving around, checking the temple for storm damage, so we decided it would be better to leave. I encouraged Luka to come home with me, so we could regroup and think about our next move.

We emerged from the temple as the skies cleared. The storms rarely lasted this long, but the opal fields and storm glass collected after this event would be prosperous.

As we walked through the still quiet streets, I took in the damage. Our cities were built for the havoc the weather ravaged, but there were still casualties. Roof tiles missing, things left untethered blown clear to the Ninth Kingdom or beyond.

We were used to it, and as long as the gems were fine, that was all that mattered.

Luka followed me as I picked a path through the debris in the street. Coming over the crest of the ridge, he gasped as he took in his first view of the gem fields.

I surveyed the damage, keeping an eye out for my brothers.

I wasn’t allowed to work in the fields as a child. All the women in Storm were sent to training when we were three years old, and because I’m a dragon, as soon as I was old enough, I went to school in the First Kingdom. Sometimes, I longed for the life my brothers had, the families they’d started. I knew it was because the women here were honored to be more than storm tenders, but I also had to wonder how much simpler my life would be had I been able to stay here and find my own purpose.

Luka broke my train of thought. “What are all those massive stones?”

“You really don’t know?”

“I think we’ve covered this. I have gaps in my knowledge, but I’m working on filling them. Why would you have a field full of massive stones?” He scanned the field, staring like most fae did when they came here for the first time.

“They are black storm opals. Exceedingly rare and delicate, mined from the Far North. They are our main energy resource and one of the only ways life persists in this Kingdom with so little sun. They are extremely sought after and at risk of theft. They keep us alive—which is why we have to guard them so closely.” I gestured at the low towers and the fae in the fields.

“Why would anyone steal something that keeps your people alive?!” He stepped closer, reaching out like he’d take my hand, but he hesitated at the last minute, lifting it to shove his fingers into his hair.

“They are used for a lot of magical objects and are quite valuable.” Maybe I shouldn’t have been telling him any of this, but it was no secret. “They are one of the greatest gifts from the Goddess because not only do they thrive in the storms like we do, but the disruptive magic in the atmosphere opens the heart of the gem allowing the little sun we have to charge it. With the power penetrating deeper into the stone, they become stronger and last longer.”

“So they are out here all the time?”

“Until they are ripe, yes.”

“And fae stay out there with them?” He glanced back at the field with horror etched into the lines in his forehead.

“Indeed.” I nod. “My brothers are out there.”

“Madness!” he whispers.

“I told you, the people of Storm are different. The weather doesn’t disrupt our magic like it does for other fae. Some are trained to guard the fields. It’s a vital job for the Kingdom’s survival.”

“But to be out in the storms with hardly any cover?” He didn’t turn away from the fields.

“There are shelters embedded into the hills if they need them. Do you judge the shepherds who stay in the fields with their flock though all weathers? The gems are our flock.”

He wrinkled his nose, trying to work out the logic. “But shepherds don’t have life threatening storms to deal with.”

“Aren’t you just a tender little fae? It’s necessary to keep us alive.”

He narrowed his eyes in a glare. “Don’t patronize me.”

I laughed.

“So what do these valuable stones actually do?”

“For us, they mean life. Most other kingdoms can harness the sun’s power with little trouble. Here, we have so little sunlight, we rely on magic to maximize it for the energy the kingdom needs. We also can’t have crops outside because the winds and violence of the storms would destroy the delicate plants, so they have to be protected, and we bring the power of the sun inside with the stones.

“But they are a commodity, too, because they can be ground and used as a protective coating to ward against spells. The storm power in the opal disrupts the spell and protects whatever it is coating. One of the things they use it on are the eggs in the nurseries, actually. An extra layer of protection gives them the best chance of hatching.

“And when it is mixed with other stones,” I continued, “it mimics the properties of whatever it’s mixed with, making it extremely powerful for creating amulets and other magical tools.”

He cocked his head, staring off into the distance like he was thinking about something a little too hard. “Wait?—”

“What?”

“Take me to the gems. I need to see one.” He grabbed my hand.

“Why?” I hesitated, not sure if I should. Fae were allowed out there of course, but I was still not sure if I fully trusted him.

He looked at our hands as we walked and closed his eyes like he was shaking off a memory he couldn’t quite grasp.

“What is going through your head?” I asked, trying not to sound too desperate to know. But how I wished I had a window into his thoughts.

“The eggs—they were painted.”

“Right. They coat them with the opal, like I said.”

“Does the coating change the color of the eggs?” he asked like he was leading me some place.

“No, the coating is clear when applied thin like it should be. It disrupts outside attacks and spells and prevents harm to the egg.” I didn’t even know if it really worked, but it’d been tradition from before the Twelve Kingdoms were formed.

“The egg I touched had some straw attached, and when I picked it off, it was a different color under the paint.” he said, still sounding far away with his thoughts.

“Are you sure?”

“For the hundredth time today, I’m sure about everything I saw, Hazel.”

“Okay.” I blew out a breath. “So what are you getting at?”

“I don’t know. But if the eggs are all painted, it wouldn’t be that hard to disguise them and make them look like eggs from other dragons.”

I still wasn’t quite following what he was saying. “Why would they want them to look like other kinds of dragon eggs?”

“Because then it would be easy to switch them.”

“But why would they…” I didn’t have to finish the question. If someone was stealing healthy eggs and telling poor parents they never hatched, it wasn’t a leap to think they were also disguising the eggs to move them around. My heart dropped into my stomach, and I felt sick.

“What?” He looked out to the field and back to me. “What did you realize?”

“They are inspecting Alora’s egg for health tomorrow. Dad mentioned in passing earlier because the whole kingdom is excited that we are due another dragon in a matter of months.” Everything in me didn’t want to believe it, but the timing of these mysterious painted eggs was too suspicious.

“Who is Alora?” He asked with a frown.

“She’s the only storm dragon currently with an egg in the kingdom.” I replied

Luka’s gaze turned concerned. “You don’t think?—”

“I don’t know.”

I pressed my eyes closed. “You swear you saw eggs?”

“I swear to you, Hazel.” He squeezed my hand.

“We need to ask my brother if any stones have gone missing recently.”

“Would it be recent?” he asked, trying to keep up as I marched across the damp field. “Couldn’t they get them from the mines?”

“They don’t mine them anymore. At least not for any other kingdom.” It’s why we had to protect them so fiercely. There weren’t anymore, and if we lost too many, our way of life would be over.

“What?!” he called after me, but I was already trudging through the field. “Where are we going?”

“To find out about the eggs.”

“Wait!” He grabbed my sleeve. “We can’t tell anyone.”

“I’m not telling anyone. I’m finding out where the paint came from.”

When I came to the first male in the field, I stopped. “Good morning, Leal. Have you seen Calixtus?” I asked.

“Hazel!” He picked me up in a hug. “How’s our big city girl? You home on a visit or business?”

I glanced back at Luka, not having thought this far ahead. “Visit. Are you alright after that storm? Do you guys need anything out here? I’m sure Dad and crew are cooking you up a big meal, but in the meantime, can I get you anything else?”

“We’re good. The storms are always a nice break from flipping. Least it’s quiet.”

“So you got in a nap is what you’re saying?”

“Yes, ma’am. But don’t let me keep you. Your brother is helping reset a couple of the big boys up in the north field.” He nodded in their direction.

“Thank you.”

“May the Goddess bless the storms,” he replied.

“May she.” I led the way, Luka still following close behind me.

“They really only let the males do this?” he asked when we were out of ear shot of Leal.

“It’s not that they don’t allow females, or that they think we can’t do it, but we’re seen as too valuable to be in the storm fields.” I didn’t love it, but that was the way of things.

“Too valuable? Like they have to keep you safe?” He made a face.

“Not because we are fragile—because we are weapons. Females are the warriors in our culture. We are trained from birth to defend our lands.”

It clicked in his head, and it showed on his face. “No wonder you’ve been the weapons master for years. When they told me about you, I expected some old wizened dragon not…” He pulled a face again and lifted his shoulders.

“Not what?” I asked with a bite to my tone.

“Not someone hot,” he laughed.

“We age quite well, thank you, but no, I’m not old. It’s the only place they had for me without a ryder.” I tried to keep the resentment out of my voice, but it was impossible.

“The only place? You’re the best weapons master in all the Twelve Kingdoms. I don’t think that’s a pity post.”

“It’s not a pity post, but it’s not where I should be with the legion.” I quickened my pace, not really wanting to get into my whole sob story. It was embarrassing.

“I can’t imagine how awful that must be,” Luka said softly. Whatever I was expecting from Luka, it wasn’t that.

“It’s fine. It’s my duty.” I finally spotted my brother. “Cal!”

“Hazel! Dad said you were visiting and I was to be home for dinner. Still, looks like I’m not the only one who missed it.” Cal said, glancing between us. “I’m sure Dad just kept it simmering for us.”

My cheeks heated. “I, uh…I stayed in the temple through the storm.”

He grinned and nodded. “No need to make excuses, sis. It’s natural.”

I lifted my lip in mock disgust. “Get your mind out of the bloody gutter. I was keeping a friend safe from the storm. He can’t go out in it.”

Cal inspected Luka again. “He doesn’t know better?”

“I do now. Honest mistake. I hadn’t traveled much before the Goddess blessed me with this new posting.” Luka instantly slipped back into his priest persona.

I don’t know how he did it, but at that point, I had to go with it because I didn’t really have a better story. “He had a bit of a rough day. First storms can be terrifying.”

Luka’s glare burned into the side of my face, but I didn’t spare him a glance.

“It was a turbulent one.” Cal flicked his gaze towards Luka like he felt bad.

Males, always giving each other the benefit of the doubt. Arseholes.

“It was fine,” I snapped.

“If you say so, sis.” He winked at me.

“We have a question about storm opal glaze.” I said, changing the subject.

“Why?” Cal asked.

“Er—” I really had not thought this through.

Luka slipped in like he’d already thought all of this out. “Since it was developed in the storm kingdom to protect the dragon’s eggs here from the storms, and we’ve since adapted it to help protect all the eggs in the Twelve Kingdoms, I’ve been tasked with researching it and its origins so we can preserve the practice and perhaps improve it for future generations.”

He lied so smoothly. It hit a deep place inside me. I didn’t like it, even if it helped me out with my brother.

“Since we are old friends, I told Brother Luka I’d help him.” I felt awful lying to my kin, but I held it together because if all this was true, there were much worse crimes than my lying.

“That makes sense.” Cal was so easy going and trusting. He’d never doubted me.

“Do we keep a store of it?”

“No, we don’t grind up our stones anymore; we don’t have enough for that. The Far North supplies it to the priests from their stores, and we charge it here.”

“Do you know if it has ever been mixed with any other magics or minerals for added protection on the eggs?”

He thought about it for a moment. “There’s a whole book on the magics used with storm opals in Mom’s office, I think? So I bet they have, but you’d have to ask her.”

“How do you know what’s in Mom’s office?” I asked, mouth agape.

“That’s a really good question.” He held up a finger. “Why are you asking me this stuff and not Mom?”

“I’m not sure I want to bring it to her yet,” I said. She still held duty so highly, and I didn’t want her to take it to the wrong person if I was wrong or if Luka wasn’t telling the truth. “Why are you turning this around on me?”

“Why are you not answering?” He flipped it back again.

“Because she’s busy. You know how much she has on her plate running the training schools.” While not the true reason I didn’t want to bring it to her, it wasn’t a lie. Mom was overworked, but she loved giving back to her community. She wasn’t even upset when she got injured and lost her position in the legion. She grieved the loss of her ryder, of course, but she was happy to be able to work here instead.

“Good answer. I don’t believe you, but since I don’t want to explain mine, I’m not going to make you explain yours.”

“Are you kidding me right now?” I scoffed. “I’m not hiding anything, but you sure are. When did you see this in Mom’s office?”

“Why didn’t you go home during the storm, and why don’t you want Mom to know about your priest friend’s interest in the stones?” he threw back, putting us at a stalemate. “Truce?”

“Truce, but only for now. I will be getting to the bottom of this later.”

“Only if you’re ready to have yourself exposed as well, sister mine,” he said in good humor. We’d always been close. All of us were.

“Are you beginning or ending shift?” I asked my brother, changing the subject.

“Ending. I’ll be home in a while. See you there?”

“Maybe.”

“Fair enough. Goddess speed your search.” Cal returned to his work, and Luka and I went back across the field.

“Are we going to ask your mother?” Luka asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to involve her.” And I didn’t really want to explain Luka’s presence to my family. They didn’t say it, but they hated that their little girl hadn’t found a companion. My parents’ love was so beautiful and easy, it was hard for them to understand anyone else not finding it like they did. And they would see him coming home with me all wrong.

“Not because she’s busy. What is the real reason?”

“Because she’s High Archeiai. She can go to the priests and quickly figure out you’re not one of them, and then she will see through your horseshit even if my brother doesn’t. She won’t believe anything you say if that’s your cover. The people here trust the priests. The Goddess ensures our way of life, and we don’t disrespect that. So not only will she not believe it, if we involve her and she feels that she has to report it, more than just the Storm Kingdom will be told. She will have to take it to the King.”

“We can’t have that. Nyx wouldn’t like it.”

“That’s what I thought.” I said, trying to think.

“How else can we find out if it’s even possible to disguise eggs that way?”

“I need to see that book.”