Heartscale

by Lola Ford

Even as they crossed over the wall of the city, Nerie could see riders leaving from the north gate. She wondered if they were headed to Alluvia or another city.

  Soros was sitting in the main courtyard. Her wings were tented, and her head swept back and forth as she searched the sky for her children. Her frame towered above the palace, reminding Nerie once again just how large she and Eras really were.

  Eras was flying.

  He was circling the city, tail twitching as he watched for any movement in the night.

  Nerie sat upright, expecting Kiriga to land in their courtyard instead however she settled into the courtyard outside Soren’s rooms.

  Mazen and Riya both landed softly on the roof, and Nerie could hear the building creak. The five dragons present could fill the entire roof - with maybe a tail or two hanging over.

  Soren is in his study. You need to join him there, Ilex told her as he watched his sister land.

  Right. Of course.

  Nerie was already unstrapping herself from Kiriga as a cloud of dust rose around them.

  She slid to the ground and collapsed. There was no Uncle Sylas there to catch her as her weary legs gave way beneath her.

  Kiriga turned her whole body, worried. Her tail whacked into Ilex with an audible thud, causing the older dragon to growl deep in his chest.

  Kiriga ignored him, instead lowing her head next to Nerie, to try to give her something to pull herself up by.

  “I’m fine.”

  Nerie waved off the dragoness, while sitting on her butt looking down at her legs.

  The left one tingled as if stuck by a thousand pins and needles. She groaned softly as she rotated her foot to the left and then the right. It burned. She then did the same for the other leg.

  As blood flow slowly returned, she grasped onto one of the dozen small horns that were starting to protrude from Kiriga’s face.

  She had barely gotten her feet under her when the door from the room opened, and a knight of the King’s Guard stepped out. Seeing her struggling to stand, he hastily bowed to her, then offered her his arm.

  “This way My Lady,” he said formally, nodding to the direction he had come from.

  A few shaky steps later, and she was inside Soren’s study. Which at the moment was more like a war room. Maps were up of the region, the city, even the streets that were affected in Alluvia. Nerie was deposited into a seat and promptly ignored.

  Soren didn’t even look up when she entered.

  Nerie waited - patiently - but the long cold flight seemed to catch up with her, along with the long day she’d had with Kora and Karsen before. She slipped her boots off and curled her legs up under herself, trying to get comfortable in the wooden armed chair.

  ***

  When Nerie awoke sometime later she was disoriented. She couldn’t tell how much time had passed -this was an interior room with no window and the candles that seemed fresh, but she didn’t remember how low they’d been when she’d drifted off.

  The room was still crowded, but she didn’t know if it was filled with the same people who’d been there before she’d fallen asleep. The only person she recognized was Soren, and he was still not looking at her. He was talking to a man in full armor, who held a plumed helmet under his arm. Even in the small room, their low voices were unintelligible.

  Stretching, Nerie stood, recoiling slightly when her bare feet hit the cold floor. She had forgotten she’d removed her boots before falling asleep. She was still too tired to put them back on, so she padded over quietly to Soren.

  Apparently neither he nor the man he was speaking to heard her, as both looked startled as she cleared her throat. The man was surprised enough that his hand reached for the sword that hung from his belt.

  “My… My Lady,” he stuttered as he dropped onto his right knee, head bowed.

  Nerie had learned in her studies that it was an offense punishable by death to pull a weapon on any member of the royal family.

  She nodded at him, still not knowing who he was. He stood, bowing quickly to Soren and left the room.

  With his departure, Soren was left there staring at her. His mouth was open slightly, and his face was covered in a dark stubble - either it was late enough in the day to have grown, or early enough in the morning that he hadn’t yet shaved. He had dark rings under his blue eyes and his hair was disheveled as if he’d run his hand through it more than once.

  “What’s going on?” Nerie asked, looking at him. As he opened his mouth further to speak, she added quickly, “I mean, I know Alluvia was attacked, but how? When? Why?”

  Soren used his gaping mouth to gulp in a lungful of air, and then another. He blinked slowly, and Nerie was inclined to think that it was closer to too early to shave rather than too late in the day and Soren had probably not slept at all that night.

  “You know that Galean lives in the city?” he asked. When she nodded, he continued, “Well, yesterday afternoon there was a fire. In a grain storehouse. It of course caught his attention and he flew overhead, trying to get an idea if anyone was inside and if the fire was going to spread.”

  Nerie bit her lip, worried about the dragon, but she already knew from the conversation between Kiriga and Wyla much earlier that Galean was fine.

  “He saw a large group of people there, but when he flew lower, they scattered. Most were wearing long capes and hoods. No way for him to identify them.” Soren shook his head at that before continuing, “But they left something behind. Something they were burning with the storehouse.”

  This, Eras said, and Nerie could nearly hear the smoke billowing from his nostrils.

  The orange dragon showed her an image of two figures. They looked like dolls, except bigger, and one was clearly a girl with long red hair and the other was a golden dragon.

  Her and Kiriga.

  The blood drained from Nerie’s face.

  “But… Why?” she asked, her voice soft.

  Soren shook his head, “We don’t know. Yet.”

  He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it even more.

  “Few enough people even know what you look like. You’ve done nothing political. Yet here they are, burning effigies of you and Kiriga...”

  He trailed off as he spoke, his eyes darting to the maps that hung around the room. His hand reached for his hair again, shaking slightly.

  “I’m back and I’m safe,” Nerie said slowly.

  She wasn’t sure it was going to help, but Soren looked at the end of his rope.

  “Yes. You’re back. From now on you will always have a guard escorting you, and any food will be tested before you eat. No more flying with Kiriga for the time being…”

  Horrified at the abrupt change in her freedoms, Nerie cut him off and agreeing to the current terms before he limited her even further.

  “I… I see. I’ll head to my rooms now.”

  She dipped in a curtsy to Soren, then turned to go. He stopped her before she reached the door.

  “While your rooms have been repaired, I would feel more comfortable if you remained in the temporary rooms that you were in before for now. Karina is already there waiting for you.”

  “Of course,” Nerie said carefully, keeping her tone neutral. Soren was obviously under stress and she didn’t want to further his paranoia by disagreeing with him.

  She grabbed her boots from their haphazard position on the floor and left the room. Two of the many guards that stood in the main sitting room turned and followed her. She didn’t say anything to them, picked up her step, and walked quicker.

  Reaching her suite, she nearly sprinted into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She wanted to reach out to Kiriga, but she could hear the dragons speaking and didn’t feel like she could interrupt.

  Instead, she disrobed. Her hands shook as she carefully folded each article of clothing. Soren had said Karina was in her rooms, but the woman had not appeared.

  Nerie looked around and sighed in annoyance when she saw that her luggage had not been returned to her r
oom yet. She searched in vain in her closet, she found that Alaena must have raided her small stash of pants while she was away.

  Unhappy, Nerie donned a soft nightgown instead and she kicked at the skirt in annoyance.

  While it annoyed her, it didn’t matter. She was too tired from her long day. Still unsure what time it was, Nerie crawled into the soft bed, not even checking the sheets for an unwanted guest.

  She was going to sleep until someone showed up to drag her out of bed.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Nerie

  The following days were some of Nerie’s worst at the palace. The strict regulations that Soren had imposed upon her weighed heavy.

  The food was cold when she got to eat it - after she’d had to wait on the food tester not falling over dead before she was allowed to eat.

  The guards had tried to follow her into the bathing room. She’d shrieked at them, slamming the door shut. They reasoned that there was the servant’s passageway into the small room - only relenting when Nerie instead allowed Karina to stand in the room, facing away from the princess.

  Then there was Alaena. Every time she visited Nerie, she was in a fouler mood than the day before. Like Soren, who Nerie only glimpsed every now and again - as he had completely stopped her lessons with him for the time being - Alaena had deep bags under her eyes. Even her cascade of fine dark hair had the occasional snaggle in it, something that if she’d been more alert would never have happened.

  “No. NO. You are doing that stitch all wrong.”

  Alaena’s voice was nearly shrill as she paced behind where Nerie sat, trying to make the floss work itself into a neat little flower.

  Nerie jumped, unfortunately sinking the sharp needle deep into the side of her finger. A muttered curse, and she shoved it in her mouth just as the blood started to well. She glared at the older woman in anger.

  There’d been no need to shout at her, besides Karina they were alone in the room.

  “Well try again,” Alaena said, no sympathy in her voice. “Do it correctly this time.”

  Pulling the wounded finger out of her mouth, Nerie took a deep breath. It would do no good for her to escalate the issue.

  “I’ll do my best,” she said softly, eying the silver needle with doubt.

  “No.” Alaena was looking for a fight. Nerie could sense it in the way she was hovering over her. “You’ll do it right.”

  “Alaena, I don’t know that I am up for this right now,” Nerie said, starting to pack away the hoop and floss.

  “We are not done here.” The queen’s voice raised a fraction.

  “We are. I am,” Nerie said firmly, standing.

  All Nerie wanted was an ounce of control in her life, yet Alaena was unwilling to hand it over.

  “Come back here,” Alaena said, the barest hint of a stomped foot following her command. Nerie thought Alaena really must be exhausted, but she didn’t care. If Nerie was suffering from Soren’s restrictions, Alaena could suffer too.

  Nerie left.

  Karina and the two guards following behind her less than silently. Nerie didn’t care. She turned down corridor after corridor, until she reached her mother’s suite. She’d wanted to talk to Myha about her trip to Cian but had not found the time to do so yet.

  Now would be a perfect opportunity.

  However, when she pushed against the door, it didn’t budge. Karina cleared her throat awkwardly.

  “Your lady mother is still with Sir Ahlwin at his estate,” Karina said, and Nerie could hear the trepidation in the maid’s voice as she spoke.

  “Still?” Nerie asked, more than a little taken aback.

  “This is their third time visiting, My Lady,” Karina said, looking at her feet as she spoke.

  “Right. Of course. Good on her.” Nerie turned back the way she had come. “Well then, I guess I want to go to court.”

  Nerie tried to force cheer into her voice, but she couldn’t help but look back at the locked door.

  “We’ll make you look extra special today Princess,” Karina said, taking the lead back to the small suite.

  By the time they arrived back to Nerie’s rooms Queen Alaena had departed, but Nerie wasn’t the only one to notice the basket of floss strewn across the room, the failed flower laying in front of the hearth where Alaena must have stood contemplating throwing it to the flames.

  In less time that she would have imagined, Nerie found herself ready to be presented at court. Her hair was in a sophisticated twist and her dress was a golden amber that made her skin look as if it was glowing.

  Nerie wasn’t a petty person but getting all dressed up did make her feel a tad bit better. Walking into the solar and having the courtesans flock to her was a slight rush of endorphins.

  She was surprised to see Wilm speaking to Astra as she entered the solar. When he caught sight of her, he dropped Astra’s hand with a quick bow before wading into the crowd that surrounded Nerie.

  Astra’s face was pale, and her eyes flashed as she watched every other person in the room beg for Nerie’s attention.

  Nerie couldn’t believe her eyes when instead of trying to get her followers back or start a fight, Astra simply walked out of the solar without even a backwards glance in Nerie’s direction.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  Astra

  Astra couldn’t believe it. Even Wilm, her childhood friend, had stood her up - enamored by that little bastard.

  She had thought about walking over, causing yet another scene with the little princess, but it just wasn’t worth it. Mother and Father had both put their foot down on it after the last time.

  Astra walked to her suite, idly undressing even as she reached the door. Gayge was following her, just like the good little puppy he was. He was the guard she’d chosen to watch over her rooms - and herself - a few months before when they’d taken away her knight from the King’s Guard.

  Now she had Gayge, a palace guardsman.

  That had been another kick in the face. Another nod to the fact that the bumpkin of a peasant had been selected as the next future ruler. That she, Astra, was worth less than a bastard.

  When she threw herself down into the chair, she felt Gayge trying to rub her shoulders. Of course, he was. He would start to pout without a little physical attention every few days.

  Not that she minded too much.

  He was good looking and wasn’t a talker. She was - but he knew better than to open his mouth when she spoke.

  As she acquiesced to his massaging, she started tapping her foot. She would have been pacing, but she didn’t want the man following her as she did so.

  “Why couldn’t you have bashed in her skull the day that yellow runt chose her?” she asked him angrily. It was how she started just about every conversation they had.

  Gayge had been the soldier that had knocked Nerie unconscious right after Kiriga had selected her to be the next queen. Had the dragoness been older than a few minutes and not still learning to hold her head up, he would likely have lost his life. As it was, the lizard had simply bowled him over.

  He gave a noncommittal grunt, kneading at her neck.

  “She has not yet been proven to be my father’s bastard. He can claim he slept with the whore all he wants but she doesn’t take after him in a single way. From her ugly red hair to the nasty splotches on her skin.”

  She stood suddenly, causing the guard to nearly fall backwards in surprise. She crossed her arms in a huff, moving to her bed. That perked the man up, and he followed suit. If anything could get him to listen, it was her body - but she wasn’t in the mood, too engrossed in her complaints.

  “Father spends more time with her than he ever spent with me. Even when he thought I would be queen.” She motioned at the guard to sit on the end of the bed.

  “Mother might as well have a second daughter. She stopped giving me lessons the day that bitch appeared.” She shoved herself backwards on the soft cushions on the bed, and Gayge started to massage her legs. She groaned
as he hit a particularly tense nerve, but she just kept talking, “All my friends are just sycophants. Flies following their next meal. That’s all they all are. Flies.”

  She pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear in annoyance, sitting up. She studied Gayge’s face, as if she was looking for some sort of answer to an unasked question.

  “Aldis is just another fly. Pathetic. Thank god he’s gone. Soros, fucking purple lizard, seemed so broken up about it. Not that she would tell me. Or talk to me. None of them talk to me.”

  Astra was bored and threw herself back down. She wanted Gayge to leave her bed. Not that he was an issue. She just wanted to lay back and kick her bed angrily and he was in the way.

  “I lost the one person who loved me, and the snake didn’t even bite the bastard.”

  “I -” he said awkwardly, “love you princess.”

  She sat up and patted his cheek, “Of course you do.”

  Restless once again, Astra stood and wrapped a silk robe around herself and walked to her large bathroom.

  Still talking, raising her voice as she moved farther from the guard, she said, “You know, it’s obvious that there are some people still loyal to me. Want to see me on the throne. Look at Alluvia. They burned a fucking effigy of the bastard and the undersized lizard.”

  She eased herself into her large stone tub and lazed as washed herself slowly. She quieted while she tried to relax, but it didn’t work. Before the water even cooled, she was back out of the tub. As she reentered the bedroom, her dark hair was dripping water, she picked back up where she had left off.

  “All I know is that the people need to understand that the dragons aren’t omniscient. They can’t be trusted. Not with something like choosing the ruler of the country. Hell, look at how we got to Father.”

  She walked over to Gayge who was standing by the door. She patted his cheek again and said, “You’ll make sure they know for me, right?”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  Graith

  The next morning, Graith returned to the land of the living slowly and stiffly. He felt as if he had been trod upon by Mero, his whole-body aching. His arms and legs popped and creaked as he moved back the covers and tried to sit. Sucking in a large breath of air, he reached towards his toes, his back and hips popping.