The Dragon's Throne

by Emily L K

  She experienced a flash of boiling hatred and for a moment her fear vanished beneath it. She opened her mouth to respond. Perhaps she would have denied what he accused her of, or she may have openly met his challenge, but she didn’t get the opportunity, for that was the moment Rowan appeared at the door.

  “Co-“ he began, then halted when he saw the Advisor. From where they stood, the Advisor had to turn aside to face the Karalis. Rowan’s expression slid from its moment of shock into one of appropriate indifference. Before the Advisor could take the time to comprehend the situation, Cori saw his eyes glaze over. The strange expression coincided with a flare of Rowan’s Hum.

  He‘d once explained to Cori exactly how he maintained his mute persona with the various Hiram in his office whilst still managing his estates. Rowan had perfected the art of memory manipulation; he still spoke to his Hiram subjects when he needed to, but at the end of conversations and meetings he would alter their minds, allowing them to keep memories of the conversations but not how they had happened. He could also plant thoughts in their heads and make them forget others.

  Though she had never seen it in action, she assumed that it was the latter he was performing now. Rowan didn’t seem to have to concentrate hard on holding the Advisor‘s mind. He instead stepped towards her as if he might resume his request for her not to go, but the information overload she‘d received in the last few minutes was too overwhelming. Leaving the breakfast tray where it was, she turned on her heels and fled the room without another word.

  Cori went directly to the pages’ rooms and closed the door behind her with a snap. She had expected no one to be there at this time of day, so when she sawAntoni in her nook she stopped in her tracks. The red head glanced up in surprise from the stack of books on her desk. Cori wasn’t sure whether her own face held an expression of fear or anger, but she tried to school it as she forced herself to take the three steps from the door to her bed.

  She pretended to busy herself with the few meagre items she had on her own desk while she waited for Antoni to leave. The other girl rummaged around at her nook for a while longer before moving across the room to leave. She paused at the door and Cori glanced up at her.

  “On seventh day eve there is a few of us going to a tavern in Lautan and I thought I would extend the invitation to you, if you would like to come,” Antoni said the words easily and Cori could hear no deception in them. Nonetheless, she felt her eyebrows shoot up in surprise and simultaneously felt her stomach drop. It had to be some sort of joke, but she found herself replying to Antoni.

  “I’ll let you know,” she croaked. Antoni nodded and left the room. Cori stared at the door for a moment, trying to process what had just happened, then she flung herself face down on the bed. Her mind whirled out of control as she tried to make sense of what the Advisor had said to her, but her brain skipped frantically from his words to her problem with the dragon dreams and onto Antoni’s invitation to the tavern.

  Her anger warred with fear and confusion and she felt as if she were suffocating under the events that had transpired in the past half an hour. She didn’t know what to do.

  Chapter Twelve

  The following day Cori sent a note to the kitchens to say she was sick, and to ask Saasha to deliver the Karalis’ breakfast. She stayed in her bed with her head under the covers while the other girls got ready for their classes. As she listened to Olivia and Fliyn - as she now knew the blonde girl to be called - gossiping, she wondered dully if her old classmates talked about her and her continued absence in their classes.

  Eventually they left, Antoni leading the way out the door, and the room was quiet. Cori threw back the covers but didn’t get up. She lay there, staring miserably at the white ceiling above her. She hadn’t dreamed of the dragon the previous night but that did nothing to ease her fear of it; Rowan was right, it was only a matter of time before it did some serious damage. There might come a morning when she just didn’t wake up.

  The thought made her chest constrict and she rolled quickly to face the wall, trying to think of something else. The Advisor’s sneer swam through her mind and she groaned. How would she ever escape this? Despite her fear of her dreams, all she wanted to do was sleep to forget it all.

  She stayed in bed the following day too, and the day after that. It was on the third day, not long after the other girls went to class, that he came to find her.

  She was lying on her back in her too-big school robes with her arm flung over her eyes when she heard the door open and close. She didn’t move, expecting that it was one of the girls come back to claim a forgotten school book. When she felt her mattress dip under someone’s weight, she jumped and scurried backwards to the head of the bed in alarm.

  “Rowan!” She exclaimed, pressing a hand over her hammering heart. “What are you doing here?”

  He was sitting calmly at the end of her bed dressed in his Karalis finery; a deep green and silver vest over his black shirt and pants. His hair was brushed back into its usual tail and the silver rings on his fingers were set with large emeralds. At her question he sighed loudly and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

  “As much as I am enjoying your sister’s company, her dramatics are just not as entertaining as yours.” His voice was heavy with sarcasm and he lowered his eyes to meet hers, one eyebrow raised. “I’ve come to get you up.”

  Anger welled like a weight on her chest. Did he think this was funny? Did he think her being in physically ripped apart from the inside by dragons was dramatic?

  “You think this is a joke? That dragons attacking me in my sleep are someth-“

  He held up a hand, cutting her tirade short. She sat back, affronted by his disregard, but she knew better than to keep going.

  “Once again, Cori,” he began promptly, “you overreact before you have assessed the whole situation. It’s time for you to stop running in fear each time you are confronted with an unknown. You are stronger than this - you know it and I know it.” He paused and assessed her. She met his golden eyes defiantly and a small smile curled at the corner of his lips.

  “See?” He said with amusement. “A bit more of that sass and we’ll have this whole palace in an uproar.”

  Cori felt her anger melt away under his light-hearted humour, only to be replaced by misery. His smile faded as he watched the fight go out of her.

  “Listen to me,” he said emphatically. “Once, you asked me not to involve myself in the matter of yourself and the Advisor, because you could not let him win. Well, you‘re letting him win now, Cori, by locking yourself away like this. I know what he said to you was shocking, but it doesn’t need to be. He’s not the first Advisor I’ve employed with ambitions above his office and he won’t be the last. You will get back in there and you will continue to defy him and you will win.”

  “What about the dragons?” Cori whispered. Rowan leaned towards her, matching her low tone.

  “I don’t know about the dragons but that doesn’t mean you have to face them alone. We will find a way - together - to keep them at bay.”

  He sat back and studied the room, giving her a moment to digest his words. His gaze was politely curious, but she knew he was taking in her lack of effects compared to the colourful and personalised nooks of the other girls; the family portraits above Fliyn’s bed, the piles of books, both personal and academic, stacked on Antoni’s desk, and even the glittering jewellery and pretty dresses discarded haphazardly across Olivia’s bed.

  She wished she knew what he was thinking, but she knew better than to ask; they didn’t discuss her status, even when it was as obvious as this.

  “Will you help me?” She finally said. He sprang to his feet, startling her as he did, and grinned.

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He held out his hand and when she took it, he pulled her to her feet. “Is there anything else you wanted to get off your chest before we go?”

  “There is one thing,” she said with a blush of embarrassment. “One of the girls asked
me to go to the tavern with her and others tonight. Can I go?”

  He raised his eyebrows at her. “Are you asking my permission to have friends?”

  “Yes... Well no. I guess I should have asked; should I go?”

  “Which girl?” He prompted.

  “Antoni,” she responded, gesturing to the other girl’s nook, as if that would help. Rowan didn’t even glance at it.

  “I like Antoni, she’s a sensible girl - very smart - she’ll be my next Advisor if she continues her hard work,” Rowan watched her as he spoke, gauging her reaction. Cori felt a pang of jealousy. It hadn‘t really occurred to her that Rowan spent time alone with the other pages too, albeit probably in silence. But when Cori managed to keep her face and thoughts blank he grinned. “Learning from the best I see. Come, we’re late.”

  “Where are we going?” Cori asked as he stepped towards the door.

  “To meet with the Head of Shaw,” he said over his shoulder. “It is about time I gave you some proper page duties. I’ll give you a moment, shall I?”

  He stepped outside and Cori hurriedly changed from her school robes to her white page robes and ran a brush through her hair. It was getting long now, past her shoulders, so she wove it back into a braid, the way she’d seen Antoni do when she was on page duty. When she was happy with her hair, she smoothed the creases out of her robes, pulled on some indoor slippers and stepped out of the room.

  The Karalis waited, his expression bored. He didn’t look at her, instead turning and striding out of the pages’ quarters and down the hall. Cori hurried along behind him, to his left and two steps back. They moved swiftly through the palace. Those they met along the way - servant or noble - dropped to the floor in deference. Cori watched them, feeling odd. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d bowed for the Karalis. It wasn’t long before he halted outside a set of plain double doors.

  Go in and announce me, he instructed her. Heart hammering, she pushed open one of the doors and stepped inside. The room was square and unadorned except for a plain wooden table and a scattering of chairs. There were five men there, including the Advisor, and they all turned to the door as she stepped through.

  The Advisor looked as if he might say something so she quickly faced the tall, sandy-haired man at the back of the room, hoping with all her might that he was the Head of Shaw.

  “Good morning, Bretton of Shaw. I wish to inform you that his holy Karalis has arrived,” Cori made to bow low to the Head of State, but Rowan’s words caught quickly in her mind.

  Watch yourself. You’re a page, not a servant.

  Cori checked herself and inclined only her head. To her right, the Advisor visibly seethed but Bretton gave her an appraising look and inclined his head back to her. The Karalis entered the room and this time Cori, along with Bretton and the Advisor, bowed low from the waist. The other three men dropped to the floor, prostrating in deference.

  Without a word, the Karalis sat at the head of the table and the men moved to take their own places. Cori stood behind the Karalis’ chair and accepted the notebook the Advisor thrust at her.

  “You should have brought your own,” the Advisor hissed. Cori nodded, though she didn’t experience that same fear she’d felt last time she’d seen him. He wouldn’t try anything while the Karalis was here. In front of her, Rowan’s head turned to mark the Advisor’s descent back into his chair. He stared until the Advisor averted his gaze, awkwardly shuffling the papers on the table before him. Cori folded her lips to keep from smiling at the Advisor’s embarrassment.

  “My holy Karalis, Advisor, I offer you thanks for the opportunity to meet with you both today,” Bretton nodded to each of the men as he spoke, oblivious to the silent exchange at the other end of the table. The Advisor nodded back but the Karalis simply sat and stared at the head of Shaw.

  You are so rude, Cori told Rowan tartly as she readied her pen to take notes.

  You think so? He replied smoothly, though without insult. Perhaps I should undo a thousand years of intimidation and get up and hug him, would you like that?

  Cori didn’t answer. The Advisor had begun the meeting by listing agenda items from a sheet of paper on the table in front of him. Cori carefully wrote them on her own notepad. From the corner of her eye, she could see the man seated beside Bretton doing the same.

  “So Hale has claimed the land at the junction of the Pale and Rushing rivers as their own and Shaw wants to dispute this?” The Advisor read from his notes and Bretton nodded along with him.

  “That is correct, Advisor. I know the land belongs to Shaw as it has been in my own family’s name for generations. I have the titles for it right here.”

  Cori glanced up to see a stack of documents pass from one party to the other. The Advisor sat back to read them while Bretton continued to talk. Cori reread her notes to ensure she hadn’t missed anything.

  Want to play a game? She felt her writing falter at his words and she pushed at him; a mental shove of irritation.

  Oh, come on, he whined and Cori had to suppress a physical sigh.

  I’m trying to take notes, she told him sternly. Stop distracting me.

  You could write the menu for tonight’s dinner and it would be more exciting than this meeting.

  Fine, she gave in. Her writing was already illegible. What’s the game?

  There are two humans in this room. Tell me who they are.

  She glanced up at the guests, her curiosity piqued. There was no physical difference between the Hiram and humans, but she studied each of the five men before reaching out carefully with her Hum.

  She found the Advisor first, his presence like an angry, unchecked flame. She withdrew from him quickly, unwilling to be connected to him longer than she had to. The next man she connected to, beside the Advisor - no, the man beside him - had a weak trickle of magic. Cori studied him. He was sandy-haired and barrel chested like Bretton. Perhaps his son? Cori moved on.

  The man taking notes had a definite thread of magic which only left Bretton and the man, who was more a boy now the Cori reassessed him, beside the Advisor. Cori frowned and went back. The Head of Shaw surely had to be Hiram, but after another careful probe of the magic she was certain.

  Bretton is a human? She finally decided, though doubtfully. And the man beside the Advisor.

  Yes, was Rowan’s response. He seemed pleased by her deductions.

  But how could a Head of State be human?

  Why not? He queried her back. Once, before we taught the Hiram their magic, they were all considered human.

  But now? Does he know he’s human?

  Oh yes, very much so. His whole line has been human for the past thousand years. Unfortunately, Bretton married a Hiram woman so their son has some of the magic, but I don’t think they’ve taught him anything.

  You wanted me to know this? Cori asked suspiciously. Why?

  One day, if ever you’re in danger and I’m not here, go to Bretton, he will help you.

  With a feeling of foreboding Cori lapsed into silence and returned to her notes.

  “ARE YOU SURE THIS IS all right? Me coming along, I mean.”

  “Would I have invited you if it wasn’t?”

  Cori didn’t reply, instead she tugged at the hem of the too short dress she‘d borrowed from Antoni. Like everything that Cori wore, the purple dress was too large in the places that mattered; her breasts and hips, but its length rivalled that of a man’s shirt, barely falling to her knees.

  Antoni’s yellow silk dress, however, had been cut to accentuate her womanly curves and stopped mid-way down her thighs. Cori had never seen dresses like this before and when she voiced her misgivings to Antoni, the older girl had laughed.

  “Everyone wears short dresses to the tavern. How else do you get men to notice you?”

  Cori could have mentioned many other ways, but she kept her silence and suffered the adornment that Antoni had provided her.

  Antoni smiled to the man in black guarding the door of the tav
ern. He merely looked at them, flexing the muscles of his abnormally large arms, so the two girls stepped around him and through the door.

  The air was heavy with smoke and the smell of alcohol was eye-watering. Antoni spotted her friends immediately and she led Cori on a winding path between the tables to a booth near the bar.

  “Everyone, this is Cori, one of the girls I page with,” Antoni, briefly waved in Cori’s direction as she sat down and slid up the booth. All eyes found her but none were hostile so Cori gave the group a small smile and sat down beside Antoni.

  The youths fell back into their conversation and Cori listened in silence, marvelling that she was here with these people. She recognised some of them from around the palace but she only definitely knew the name of the boy sitting directly opposite her; Quart of the Nomad Isles had been in her class.

  She hadn‘t paid much attention to him before, but she watched him now, with mild curiosity, as he chatted to the girl on his left. He had the typical golden tanned skin of the Nomad Isles, the legacy of a people who spent most of their days working in the sun and on the seas. His eyes were hazel and full of mirth as he talked, and he had run his hand through his curly blonde hair more than once since Cori had sat down.

  He turned suddenly, meeting her eye. Cori blushed deeply at being caught staring but he simply threw her a grin, one that cut twin dimples in his cheeks, and returned to his conversation. Cori felt herself grow warm again, but this time not from embarrassment.

  “Ho! Move over, I have drinks!” A brawny man that Cori recognised from Antoni’s grade appeared at the table and slammed down half a dozen mugs of beer in its top. Cori scooted sideways against Antoni as the man sat down beside her. He gave her a quick look over and she hastily pulled her dress down as far as it would go.