I smiled. “That’s a good boy.”
When I turned my head up, I saw Micah and . . . Bianca? They stood under an arch next to one of the palace corridors. They were so far away, I could barely make out the details.
I hated looking at my sister talk to the princes. It shouldn’t be something out of the ordinary, since my sister lived nearby and in the same palace. Still, my hands curled into fists. I absolutely detested the sight.
I must have been staring for too long because Frederick followed my gaze and asked, “Worried?”
“Nah,” I lied.
“Sure you’re not, that’s why you’re frowning and looking just like Mayhem over there.”
“Looking like an ingoria is nothing to be ashamed about.”
“I’m saying you’re reminding me a bit of a bitch.”
“Excuse me?” Mayhem wasn’t even female.
“Too far?” A sheepish grin split his cheeks.
I sniffed. “I’m not worried. Micah loves me.” But what about after I was gone? Would he get along with my sister? If he did, I’d be dead, so what would it matter? Thinking about it still made me want to smack the nearest thing.
“He does.” Frederick nodded. “So stop being a stupid potato and let’s put your ingorias back where they belong so they don’t go biting any stray heads off.”
Aura lifted her head and gave Frederick a whimpering look.
“It’s my stupid female hormones, okay?” I said. “The illogical part of me talking. I just don’t like seeing them together.”
“Thank Aereala I’m not a woman,” Frederick said. He pressed a hand over his mouth. “I mean, curse Aereala, she’s horrible.” He shook his hands at the sky, then muttered, “I’m only trying to cheer Sera up, so please don’t punish me. I think you’re wonderful.”
I sighed. “I know you’re just using a common curse. Come on, let’s get the ingorias bathed at the lakeside.”
“We’re not putting them back into their cages?”
“That would defeat the purpose of bringing them out.”
We had servants to keep the ingorias company, but I enjoyed seeing my pets play at the lake. They loved water, so maybe a bit of fun would help them sort out their differences. The dimness and musty air of the kennels might be what was setting them off. I walked to a rack and unhooked their giant, chain leashes from the hangers, then passed one to Frederick. “Help me put one on Aura, will you?”
Frederick raised his brow. “Me?” He peered at Aura, who was lazing about and soaking in the hot sun. They liked being out this time of day because the pavements absorbed the heat and became abnormally warm.
“Yes,” I replied. “Aura likes you, so she’ll let you strap this onto her.”
“But she’s—”
“Oh, don’t be a baby.” I shoved the equipment at Frederick’s chest, and he accepted it reluctantly. “You’re going to hurt her feelings.”
“She doesn’t have to know,” Frederick grumbled.
“She knows. She’s clever. So you ought to return her love quickly, or she’ll get grumpy.”
“That’s highly disconcerting.”
I lugged the heavy leashes toward Mayhem and Grunt, but before I could clasp the first collar over my ingorias, I saw Bianca striding toward us, hands up in the air and waving. I sensed Mayhem tensing up.
“S-Sera!” She wore a small trinket and wore the rich, flowy gowns of the noble ladies. I still preferred my robes, so my sister looked more queenly than I did. The gown she wore appeared more lavish than most, with sequins hand-sewn into her neckline and gold embroidery around her waist. I’d told Rylan to make sure Bianca and my father wanted for nothing, and he took my suggestion seriously.
But Bianca’s gown wasn’t going to continue looking this lavish if the ingorias attacked her. Their furs stood on end, and the low rumble of growls served as a warning.
My sister continued to near us, completely unaware of the danger.
“Bianca,” I said warily, “go away.” I hooked my fingers around Grunt’s collar, but if he wanted to attack her, I wouldn’t be able to hold him back through brute force alone.
Her eyes widened at the snappiness of my tone. “Oh, I’m just . . . I need to tell you . . .”
The quivering of her voice gave the ingorias impetus to attack. Mayhem and Grunt both rose to their feet at the same time. They drew their lips back, making it clear to Bianca they hated her and lunged without hesitation.
Instinct burst through me, sending my limbs into motion. I uttered the first spell I could think of, blitzing through the possibilities in my mind in a split second. “Prasei Diodori!” Light exploded from my fingers and a shield formed over Bianca. It was translucent, partly reflecting the sun to form a rainbow color. It had been a spell I’d taken from Beyestirya—one invented by the witches of the old after they’d explored variations of black magic.
Mayhem and Grunt slammed into the magical wall I’d created, smashing their snouts in the process. They sprawled backward, then craned their necks toward me, accusation in their lupine expressions.
I panted. “Sorry, boys. No eating Bianca.”
They snapped their jaws at my sister before turning away, stalking farther from the wall and leaving Bianca alone.
“Gaean’s balls, Sera,” Frederick said. “Aren’t you afraid of pissing your ingorias off?”
“They’re loyal to me.” I redirected my attention to the creatures. “Three of you, back in the kennels.”
Aura whined, almost as if to say, “What’s it got to do with me?” But they listened and went back anyway.
“Frederick, would you go secure their kennels?”
“Must I?”
“They’ll head back to their pens obediently. Just shut the door. It isn’t hard.”
He visibly stiffened. “I’ll do it for Aura. Just her. I’m not sure about the other two.”
When I dropped the magical shield, Bianca seemed to have her knees locked in place. She hadn’t moved an inch. “Ummm . . .”
“What is it?” I asked, sighing. I’d never seen this terrible a reaction from the ingorias before. Did they sense my animosity toward my sister, perhaps?
“I came here . . .” She focused on the ground. She needed to learn how to talk to me without avoiding my gaze eventually.
“Look at me, Bianca.” I hoped I didn’t let too much annoyance slip into my voice, but it was difficult to hold it back. Every time I saw Bianca, I remembered my mother’s sneers, my father’s chiding. The unfair treatment. The long hours I’d spent lugging shit and cleaning the latrines while my sister lounged about at home and sketched. That was why the councils loved her. While she had time to practice, I had to work the most terrible job in the world to keep us fed.
Bianca lowered her fist from her chest and unraveled her fingers. “I made this for you,” she said quickly. “I wanted to give it to you earlier but I wasn’t sure if you’d like it. I wanted to thank you for bringing us here, and for, um, keeping us safe and all. Father wants to come say hi, too, but you know how stubborn he can be. I’m not sure if you wanted to talked to us after um . . . Well, I hope you like it.”
I lifted an object from her palm. It was beautiful. A bracelet made out of soul beads, tinted with different colors and strung together with such intricate precision, it looked mesmerizingly artful. The clasp was attached to a wooden carving, with two wolf-like decorations bringing the whole thing together.
“You made it?” I asked, while sensing a hint of awe skitter across my chest. Suspicion ruined the awe.
Bianca had never treated me this nicely when we were children. Why the sudden change in the way she acted? Why now? Because I was queen?
“And there’s one more thing,” Bianca said, once again dropping her gaze to the grass.
“All done!” Frederick exclaimed, stepping out of the kennel and beaming like a man who’d just escaped the pits of hell.
“What one more thing?” I asked Bianca, ticking a brow up and fo
lding my arms. I put the bracelet into my satchel. I couldn’t stomach wearing it.
Bianca twiddled her thumbs together. “I had a vision. I think it might be able to save you.”
My expression twitched. I recalled what Aereala had told me about not trusting anybody, and I definitely didn’t trust Bianca now. And she thought it could save me? Truth was, so much of my hope had died after my meeting with Aereala last night, and that made Bianca even more difficult to trust.
“I’m not sure whether to tell you,” Bianca said.
“Oh, just say it,” I snapped, wincing at the irritation prickling through my tone. Why was the weather so hot today? It made the frown on my face even more difficult to hide.
Bianca bit her tongue, then continued. “I think . . . the goddess came to me, too, last night. She told me of the Temple of Ashes.”
“What?” I was flabbergasted. “That’s not possible.”
“Where is that?” Frederick asked. “Sounds ominous.”
Bianca scratched the back of her neck. “I’m not sure where it is, either, but that was what I saw in the vision. It was quite vivid.”
“It’s where the witches of the old used to live,” I explained to Frederick.
Frederick tilted his head. “In the Drae Lands?”
I nodded.
“But humans aren’t allowed into the Drae Lands.” It was common knowledge that the first king, Rayse, decreed a mass migration of dragon-kind to the Drae Lands after the war with the Dragon Mother. It was to leave Gaia, a separate realm, to the humans, so they could live in peace without warring with dragons.
“Some witches snuck in anyway,” I said. “They wanted to stake claim to the new frontier or something of the like. But I heard they died off. I’m not sure why.”
I wanted to grill Bianca with questions, so I could figure out what exactly she planned. Before I did, Micah swept down with his white wings and landed before us. He made a smooth landing, which looked exaggerated because his wings spanned the length of my ingorias. He picked himself up from his kneeling position on the ground and brushed a hand through his crimson hair. He looked at me, sadness in his eyes, before hiding the emotion and said, “Anatolia just had a vision.”
“Another?” I said. “Two in a week is a record.”
Micah nodded, then turned to Bianca. His features softened ever so slightly, or maybe I imagined it. “She said we had to go to an old temple to save you, and when we asked which temple, she explained that Bianca would have the answers.”
I tensed my jaw. Did I really have to listen to Bianca? “She was just elaborating,” I replied.
“The temple is over Beyestirya,” Bianca said, pointing to nowhere in particular. “Past the Wakabel mountain range and between the rebel swamp lands. I can draw a map for you.”
I hummed contemplatively. “I’m not sure—”
“That’d be helpful,” Micah said.
“Wait, we’re really going?”
Micah bent down, then kissed me, pressing our lips together in front of Bianca and a gaping Frederick. It was a public display of affection that I wasn’t sure was appropriate but felt so good it made a little moan escape my throat. “There’s still hope, Sera. We’re going to try everything we can to save you.”
A deep blush swelled over my sister’s cheeks. “I’ll . . . I’ll get the map readied.”
Just then, Kael landed from the sky. I hadn’t noticed him flying closer. He must have come from behind. Kael wore his hair back today in an unruly bundle. He folded his arms across his chest, looking somewhat disappointed, like he’d overheard us. “I’m guessing I should cancel that appointment with the Beyestiryan circus troupes then? I made them rush over here this morning to give Sera a performance.”
“A whole troupe?” I asked.
“Three, actually. I just . . .” Kael almost looked like he was choking up, “wanted to make sure Sera would have the best time of her life over the next few months.” He smiled at me.
“They could give me a performance,” Frederick said. “I mean, Torley loves them.”
Kael sniffed. “They’ll be confused. I promised them an audience with the king and queen but maybe you can pretend to be their relatives.”
Frederick scowled. “Dress up, again?”
I recalled the last time I forced Frederick to wear a disguise. He’d tried on a dress, which frankly didn’t suit his ginger beard.
“You don’t have to do it,” Kael said.
Frederick drew his eyebrows together, deeply considering. “Fine. For three troupes? Worth it. Sorry you’ll be missing out, Sera.”
“Yeah,” I said dryly. “Something tells me I might be missing out on a lot of things over the next few years.”
I’d meant that as a joke, but nobody smiled.
Chapter Seven
Gaius carried me on his dragon’s back. I leaned my body against his warm hide. Together with his brothers, we flew through the warm air of Constanria, then past the cool winds of Beyestirya. We arrived in the breezy atmosphere of the Wakabel mountain range. This was unexplored territory. I’d heard the rogue dragon-kind liked to gather here.
“I’m not even sure if we will find it,” I said, sitting up on Gaius. I spread my map, which Bianca had sketched, in front of me. There was a specific ridge Bianca had pointed out. The top of it was shaped like a dragon’s tail. She’d drawn the sketch in a hurry, but it looked amazing, with details that if I hadn’t known better, would have thought she took more than a week to draw. Just because I disliked my sister didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate her talents.
Gaius shook his head. I took it that he was telling me we should be at the temple by now. Absentmindedly, I placed a hand over a scaly protrusion to steady myself. I’d become increasingly adept at riding dragons over the past year. It used to be much harder to balance myself.
“Now, Aereala,” I said to the sky, “if at any point you think this is a dumb and stupid idea, just send some thunder our way.” The goddess had warned me to be careful, after all. It probably made sense to check with her first.
No thunder came, which led me to believe all was fine.
I squinted at the horizon and tried to make out the tops of the mountains. It was foggy today, and the misty clouds blocked my view.
After minutes more of searching, it came, clear as day. One wouldn’t have noticed it, if not for Bianca’s sketch, but when placed side by side, the similarity between the actual thing and the drawing was uncanny. It was a mountain’s peak with a jagged, distorted shape, poking above a layer of clouds and capped by a smattering of snow.
“There!” I shouted, pointing. The other three dragons surrounding me heard. They roared in unison. Rylan led the way, darting out toward the landmark, and we all traveled to the mountain with the dragon tail peak. Rylan, Kael, and Micah shot down the side of the cliffy rock faces, letting gravity take them, but Gaius had me on his back, so he descended with a slower, more gradual motion. They landed at the base of the mountain, which was much more humid compared to the cool winds above.
They shifted into their human forms as soon they reached the leafy floor. I looked at my surroundings as they clothed themselves, hearing the shuffling of their feet against the damp ground. I tried to figure out what was so special about this place. Dirt piled beneath my feet. Foreign fauna, many I did not know despite being in the agriculture department, grew around these parts. I stood in a forest. Intriguing, but not necessarily what we were searching for.
I stepped up to a weirdly shaped flower with only two petals. I’d never seen something of the like in Constanria. When I placed my finger on it, jaws poked out from its leaves and it snapped shut. I startled and pried my hand away.
“Are you certain you have the location right?” Rylan asked, his tone husky. He held back the lust of his dragon.
I gave him Bianca’s sketch before taking out her other one. For an artist, she had an amazing memory. When I asked her if she had a photographic memory, similar to Micah, she
said that she didn’t. These visions had made an intense impression on her mind.
Rylan rolled the map up. “Yes, that’s the peak. But I don’t see a temple anywhere.”
I showed him the other sketch. “She also drew this for us. Looks like a wall of vines.”
“You mean like that?” Kael said, gesturing at a huge barrier of green. Dark blue flowers sprouted at random places on the wall. I’d never seen them before, and I was supposed to know most types of plants since I’d studied for so long in the agricultural department. Luckily, they weren’t the vicious kind that almost snapped off my finger.
“What is this?” I asked Micah, as I strode up to the wall of vines.
He shook his head. “Not a clue.”
“You have no clue? But you know everything.”
He shrugged.
“Right. This expedition is making me increasingly suspicious.” My eye twitched.
I lifted the vines and was about to step through when Gaius growled and pulled me backward. I’d nearly toppled over and fell on my butt, but Gaius caught me, keeping me safe between his broad shoulders. His expression tensed when he said, “You’re not going in there first. It might be trapped.”
“More reason why I don’t want you guys to head on without me,” I said. I made to escape Gaius’s arms, but Rylan had already moved through the vines. My heart skittered as I imagined Rylan getting speared by a trap.
His voice came soon after, dispelling my worry. “It’s clear!” Rylan called. “Awfully dark, however.”
When the rest of us walked in, Rylan had his hand hovering over a sign. Embers flickered from his palm, lighting the words so we could read them. Symbols had been etched into the metal of the sign, impossible for me to understand. We stood in a burrow of some sort, but the vines blotted out the light. I couldn’t see ten feet deep into the tunnel.
“I can’t read this,” Rylan said, running his fingers across the symbols.
“Ancient witch tongue,” Micah replied. “It says that dragon-kind aren’t allowed to leave should they enter, and will be taken as slaves or be killed.”
Fall of Dragons (Sera's Curse Book 3) Page 6
