“I needed to make some hard calls. We had to take care of Vegas first. But I sent an eagle. After we’re done, we’ll meet with the royal dragons. Then we’ll head to the islands.”
Val stormed around the table. Sid had never seen him so angry. Hell, he’d never seen anyone that angry. Val got into his face. “Don’t you dare change the subject. All you care about is protecting your own. What about the fire dragons? I won’t allow them to be slaughtered like the woodlands. I’m going down there. Now.”
Sid shook his head. “No. You’re not. You will stay here with us. We will not be separated. After we’ve spoken with the royal dragons, we’ll head out to the islands and take care of them. Then we’ll go to the sea dragons like we talked about. Once we’ve gathered our allies, we can fight.”
Val slammed his fist on the table. “They could be dead by then. It’s not your decision. I’m a king as well. Or did you forget that? Come on, Hazel, we’re leaving.”
Hazel creased her eyebrows and stared at Sid with sorrowful eyes. “I’m sorry. My allegiance is to Val.”
Val gripped her hand and pulled her out of the room. “Is anyone going after them?” Aspen said.
Sid ground his teeth together. “He’ll be lucky if I welcome him back. This is a mess. We need to stick together. If we separate, they could pick us off one by one.”
“He has a right to go after them, but I think someone should go with them. Sid, you and I can stay here and take care of the royal dragons. Skye and Rowan can follow Val and Hazel.”
Skye frowned at him. “Yeah, about that. Rowan and I are going out west. Sorry.”
Sid was surprised Skye would defy him as well. He threw his hands up. “Since when did everyone stop listening to me? We need to stay together.”
Skye gave him a small smile. “You are no longer the only king. Val was right.”
Sid shook his head. “Where are you going?”
“None of your business. I’ll be back soon though.”
Sid rolled his eyes. “Whatever, go.”
“Sid, come on. Don’t be like that.”
He leaned forward. “Did you not hear the same prophecy I did? Because it was very clear that we needed to stick together. Death comes when we split up.”
“That’s your interpretation. We have our own.” She shrank away from him as if she didn’t want to admit it.
Sid didn’t respond, and Skye and Rowan left without another word. Aspen rubbed his back. “They’ll be back.”
“Or they’re all going to die. I’m worried that none of us are going to make it out of this war alive.”
She took a deep breath. “Or we all will. The prophecy was cryptic. There is no way to know. All we can do is try our best to stay alive and protect those we love.”
Skye, where are we going?
She didn’t know. Away. She was the coward the prophecy spoke of. Sid was standing up to be their leader, or their tyrant, depending on how you looked at it. Val was off saving his people.
She hadn’t expected things to happen so quickly and needed time to process. She thought they’d have months before the end. Months where she could think of a way to prepare.
So she fled. Was it cowardly? Absolutely. But really, what else was she supposed to do? The slaughter of the woodland dragons. That whole city of people, just gone. What was happening?
Skye. Talk to me.
She couldn’t. Rowan would call her out for being a coward, and she didn’t want that. Rowan always saw right through her. It was one of the things she loved about him, but in moments like this, it was annoying.
She touched down by Everett’s lake, waited for Rowan to climb off her back, and trudged up to the cabin with Rowan calling after her.
“What the hell? What are we doing?”
She should answer him, but she might lose it. She’d rather take her anger out on the dead.
She flung open the door and yelled. Everett wasn’t there, and he couldn’t hear her, but she yelled anyway.
“What is it you want from me? What did I ever do to deserve this? Why do I have this fate? Death? Why?”
Rowan shoved through the door and put his hand on her arm. “Hey, calm down. Everything is going to be okay.”
She spun on him, knowing she was close to a full on meltdown. She wasn’t a hero—far from it. Yet, according to the prophecy, she had to be one. “Everything is not going to be okay. Our life is not our own. And Everett gave us this stupid prophecy to solve. And if we don’t solve it right, someone dies. Even if we solve it correctly, someone still dies. But will he tell us who? No, of course not.” She was borderline hysterical, but she couldn’t help it. She stared at Rowan, taking shallow breaths, and clenching her fists.
Rowan pulled her into a fierce hug, and she collapsed into him. She let her tears come. She was scared. Scared of death. Scared of survival. Scared of the future. She didn’t know what was about to happen, and she felt so unbelievably out of control.
Once she calmed down, Rowan pulled away. “Come on, let’s get you something to drink.”
He dragged her into the kitchen, and she collapsed into a chair. Rowan grabbed two glasses out of the cupboard and filled them with water. She glanced around the little kitchen, sad from the memories she had here. She looked down.
A single envelope appeared there with her and Rowan’s names scrawled across it. She leapt up. That stupid letter. Last she saw it, it was in her backpack with the prophecy book. Now it was magically here in the cabin. Her spirits lifted a little. Maybe now they’d be able to read it.
“Rowan, a knife. I need a knife.” She felt an immense sense of relief. These would finally be the answers she needed. The letter would have to open now. Everett hadn’t abandoned her.
Rowan turned around, two glasses of water sloshing in his hand. “What?” He froze.
He set the water down, grabbed a sharp knife out of the drawer, and handed it to her. She tried to stick it in the corner, but like before, it wouldn’t go in. She glared at it and tried all four corners. Nothing. She stabbed at it and still made no progress.
Skye slammed the knife down in frustration and stared up at the ceiling. “Still playing with those riddles, are you? I’ll show you.” She should’ve never trusted Everett. Ever since he came into her life, it’d been a mess.
She left the letter on the counter and stormed into the living room. Rowan followed.
“Where are you going?” He was being such a good sport. When this was over, she was going to watch all of the Star Wars movies with him and not fall asleep. She’d give anything to do that now. To wake up and realize this was a dream. To love Rowan without worrying about murderous dragons or wars.
“I’m destroying this stupid letter. It keeps showing up like it’s supposed to give us answers or something, but what it really does is give us false hope.”
She grabbed a few pieces of wood from the woodpile and threw them in the fireplace. She tossed a match on the logs, but it fizzled out, so she chucked another one. And another one.
“Why isn’t this working?” she asked, throwing the matches in the air. They rained down on her and Rowan.
Rowan grabbed her arms and pulled them to her side. “Let me help. Sit and wait for a second. While I’m starting the fire, why don’t you tell me what you want to do?”
Rowan put a few newspapers in the fire and lit them, gently blowing on the flame. He was so calm. She wasn’t normally prone to hysterics. She snorted. Of course she was. The summer she thought Sid had left her for Candide, she’d started forest fires all over the West Coast. She hadn’t even let him explain. Maybe she needed to relax and let others make decisions. She obviously made rash ones.
“When we first found the letter, you suggested we throw it in the fire. So now that’s what we’re going to do. Throw it in the fire.”
He turned around. “Are you
sure you want to do that? It could disappear altogether.” He was being sensible, but she didn’t care.
“Do you see any other way of opening that stupid thing?”
“No, I guess not.”
Skye stood. “I’ll get it. We’re going to burn it.”
She walked into the kitchen and frowned at the letter. A few tears leaked out of her eyes.
“I thought you had answers, Everett, but all you’ve done is play games with me. You took away my ability to love. Then you sent me on a wild goose chase for that prophecy. Even when you appeared to me, you didn’t give me straight answers. I used to like you. I thought of you as a grandfather, but now, I’ve lost all respect for you.”
She picked up the letter and took it in the living room. She knelt next to Rowan, who had somehow managed to get a roaring flame. He put his arm around her and pulled her in tight. He kissed the top of her forehead, and her insides burned. She didn’t deserve him.
“I kind of hate you for being able to start the fire when I couldn’t.”
He squeezed her. “You can’t be perfect at everything. Now come on, let’s burn that thing if that’s what you want.”
She gave a nod and tossed the letter in the middle of the flame. The envelope burned a bright gold, and a miniature version of Everett appeared in front of them.
He blinked up at Skye.
“Ah, you brilliant girl. You figured it out.”
Oh, hell no. Not again. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Excuse me. You couldn’t have made this any easier? Like maybe just allowing us to open the letter?”
“Well then, anyone could’ve opened it.” He bobbed up and down in the flame like a tiny version of Runa.
“I suppose, but really. Everett. These riddles have got to stop. We’re about to face off with the white witch, and none of us have a clue what to do.”
“Ah yes. About that. This should clear all of that up.” He swiveled his little head. “From the looks of it, you chose to run. I was afraid of that.”
So she was the coward. Even Everett knew.
“But the letter was here.”
Everett shook his head. “The letter would’ve appeared wherever you were when you needed it. I fully expected to be in Obsidian’s mansion. I’m disappointed, dear.”
She tried not to let his disappointment bother her. “Well, you said one of us would be a coward. It made sense that it was me.”
“I said coward or brave. You’re the one who chose cowardice.”
Skye sat up tall. He had this all wrong. “I hadn’t chosen anything yet. I needed thinking time.”
“Perhaps you are the leader or the betrayed.”
“I’m here, aren’t I? That means I’m the coward?”
He was still talking in circles. She didn’t have a clue what he meant.
Everett frowned at her. “I haven’t been very fair to you. I have been rather cryptic, but I’m bound by magic as well. I try hard to get around it, and this is the best I could do. I hope by the time I’m done here, you will understand all. There are still things I cannot say even though I’d like to.”
“Go on,” she said skeptically.
“The prophecy was meant to be interpreted, and can be fulfilled, in many ways. That is not what I wish to speak of though. You will figure it out. I’m here to give you a few clear instructions so that perhaps the prophecy will be fulfilled in a way that will allow you to win. You must return to Obsidian’s side. Do what he asks of you, follow him, and help Val and Hazel do the same. They must join you. The prophecy was literal when it said you need to fight together. When the final battle comes, if all are not there to fight, all will die. Can you do this, Skye? Can you follow Obsidian?”
Skye nodded. Of course she could. There was never any question of that. Before she had a chance to ask another question, Everett disappeared in a poof of smoke.
Skye blinked at Rowan. “Well, he didn’t wait around for us to ask for clarification, did he?”
Rowan stood and brushed his hands off. “He was pretty clear.”
Skye heaved a deep breath. “Now what?”
“Are we going to listen to Everett?”
“Of course.”
“Then we go back to Sid. Come on.” He reached for her hands and pulled her up.
They went outside, and Rowan climbed up on her back. She lifted in the air with the intention of heading to Yellowstone, but a large column of smoke rose to the west of her. Given everything they’d seen recently, it was likely the arctic or canyon dragons were involved.
We should check it out, Skye said. She hoped he’d agree with her. She didn’t want to fight, but she felt strongly that they needed to see what was up. Then she would return to Sid. But the more information they had, the better off they’d be.
I’ve got my swords. Maybe we can kill some of those orange bastards this time.
Skye let out a breath of relief. They were on the same page again. She took off toward the ocean. The closer they got, the thicker the smoke became. The city directly in front of her was on fire. She flew over Portland to the ocean. Smoke spread out north and south as far as the eye could see. She headed north and made it all the way to Seattle. The entire coast was in flames.
Do you see any dragons? she asked.
No, you?
No. We need to get back to Sid. Tell him what we saw.
Should we look for survivors?
He was probably right. They couldn’t leave without helping. Do you think they’d trust us?
As humans, sure. Skye, we need to find someone who saw. We need to know what color dragons were doing this.
Skye landed near a small town. Rowan scrambled off her. They had to walk east. Everything west was in flames. After fifteen minutes, they found a large tent with people milling about.
Rowan approached an old man with his hands wrapped in bandages and a bright red face.
“Did anyone see who did this?”
The old man shook his head. “No. They came in the middle of the night. No one saw them. Before we even knew they’d arrived, our homes were on fire. But it was definitely dragons.”
“So you don’t know what color the dragons were?”
The man snorted. “Does it matter?”
Rowan nodded. “It matters very much. Is there someone that might’ve seen them?”
The man pointed to deeper inside the camp.
“Maybe someone in there.”
Skye and Rowan spent the next hour questioning survivors, but no one had seen the dragons.
As they walked out of town, Rowan gently touched Skye’s arm. “You need to accept the possibility that it was the sea dragons. Look how close we are to the ocean. The arctic dragons recruited the canyon dragons. Why couldn’t they do the same with the sea?”
Skye shook her head. “No way. They will be on our side because they have no reason to join the arctic. Honestly, the sea dragons are much happier in the water than on land. Why would they join the arctic dragons?”
Rowan shrugged. “Do you have a better explanation?”
“Yeah. The canyon dragons. Or the arctic. All of the above.”
“You’re probably right. But I’m preparing you. Sid might think the same thing I did. All these humans died just off the coast.”
She sighed. “It’s time to go back to Sid.”
Skye studied the area around her. There were no humans. She changed, and Rowan clambered up on her. Then she took to the sky and headed east. As she flew, she contemplated Rowan’s words. The sea dragons were pretty divided. Different families lived in different parts of the ocean and could go hundreds of years without interacting. Her family lived near the Everglades along with a handful of others. There was a big population near Hawaii and another on the West Coast.
She didn’t know the West Coasters very well. It was possible
they joined the arctic. But like she told Rowan, they had no reason to. In fact the West Coast sea dragons stayed under water more than most.
None of this made sense. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. But then her mind went to her other problem. Everett had told her she needed to follow Sid. If that was true, then he would probably do things that would make it hard to follow him. She wanted to see them succeed in their mission, but she didn’t want Sid to become a tyrant.
Maybe she misunderstood Everett. Sid might ask hard things of her. That she could handle. Maybe Everett meant she couldn’t run away anymore. She was good at that—running away. It was time for her to stand up for something. She would fight. She would do hard things. She would follow Sid to the grave if she had to, for better or worse, and Rowan was going with her.
Hazel was gripping his hand so hard that Val couldn’t feel his fingers. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You know you’re going to be fine, right?” She always hated airplanes.
She had her eyes squeezed shut. “Yeah. But I hate this part.”
Val nuzzled her neck as the plane’s wheels left the ground. “It’s my job to distract you.” This was something he was good at. He’d always enjoyed distracting Hazel. Though, with what was coming, she’d have to be the one distracting him.
She giggled. “You’re not doing half bad.”
The plane leveled off, and she relaxed her grip and opened her eyes. She gave him a worried expression, her green eyes boring into his.
“You want to talk about what happened?” she asked.
She had him trapped thousands of miles in the air, and now she was going take advantage, but not without a fight from him. He knew she didn’t think what he said to Sid was right. He wasn’t even sure if he felt it was right, but he knew he had to stand up for himself.
“Talk about what?” He fiddled with the tray table on the seat in front of him.
Hazel laid her hand on his arm. “How you left things with Sid.”
The Kings: The Dragon Kings Book 5 Page 4
