A girl was sitting by the window, polishing some knives.
“Are you awake?” she whispered, then added, “My lady…princess. Your Highness?” She seemed puzzled over how to best address me.
“Yes…” She was speaking the dragon tongue, I realized, but the words made sense, and I was able to find the words to reply. As I had nodded off before, the room filled with mist and some women were chanting words in the dragon language. Their language had more even tones than ours, and seemed softer in some ways, except for some rough, growling consonants.
“You fell asleep during the sessi ritual,” she said, rising gracefully to her feet.
“I remember you, I think, from back home,” I said. “Aren’t you Commander Abel’s sister?”
“Yep. I’m Raia. I asked King Aurekdel if I could be your handmaiden here. Handmaidens are also guards, and I’m probably better at the guard part, but…” She sighed. “I needed a break from going to battle after the last one.”
“I’m sorry about your mother,” I said. I knew she was one of the dragons who had been lost fighting the Emperor and his men.
“Thank you. I’ve been pretty sad.” She put her hands on her hips. She was wearing a leather top and bottom and boots that exposed a ton of her skin. Her body was muscular, her skin faintly golden against bright red hair. “I think the king is holding dinner until you wake up, and Mage Morlis is here to look at your foot after that. So, big night ahead.” She petted Kajira and then dangled some strip of meat with tiny feet attached in front of her nose. I winced, but the kitten snapped it up and flew off with it into a corner.
Raia laughed. “So cute! Come on, it’s the fourteenth king’s hour now. The court must be starving.”
“What is a king’s hour?”
“The king’s hours begin when the king wakes up,” Raia said, offering me a hand I didn’t really need. She seemed impatient to get me dressed.
“How do you measure a day, then?”
“When the king wakes up,” Raia said. “It’s a new day.”
“And years?”
“We measure in months based on tides. We call them moon cycles even though we hadn’t seen the moon for so long. But Seron was already talking to your brother about changing our counting to match yours, for trade.”
My head was spinning. “What if the king doesn’t go to bed? Do you miss a day?”
“Oh no, of course, after twenty four king’s hours it just gets marked as a new day. They have some way of correcting it but that’s for scholars to worry over.”
“So time revolves around the king?”
“Well, he is the center of the court, so…” She stripped off my gown and shoved on the robes. They were heavy silk and looked faded and ancient, covered in tiny crystal beads. “Do you know how to tie bows?” she asked me.
“You asked to be a handmaiden but you don’t know how to tie a bow?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, I’m a fast learner. If you don’t know how to tie bows I promise I’ll ask someone tonight. We can just do a knot.” She formed some sort of ship knot out of the sash. “How’s that?”
I couldn't help it. I giggled. “You aren’t anything like my servants at home.”
“Do I need to do something differently?”
“No. Not at all. You don’t treat me like I’m a doll. I like it.”
“A doll? Who would do that?”
“Everyone in Gaermon.”
“It’s probably the way you’re dressed,” Raia said. “But I know you’re tough.”
“They dressed me like this! This is just what ladies wear!”
“Come on, down here.” She grabbed a lantern and led the way.
“What is expected of dragon queens?” I asked. “Are they warriors?”
“Some of them have been, of course, but they are more likely to hold down the government when the king went to war. Of course, King Aurekdel can’t fight. And you can’t turn into a dragon. So I imagine you would both just govern and Lord Seron will lead the army like he does now.”
“I see…”
Raia put her hands on my shoulders. “Don’t be too eager to rush into war. It sounds like fun until you actually do it.”
“Yes, yes, that’s the same thing the head of my guard says. Don’t worry. I’m sure I have no choice in the matter.”
Raia showed me the way to dinner. I expected to deal with lots of courtiers and servants, but Raia steered me to a cozy room with a table that could barely seat six. Aurekdel and Seron were already there talking and drinking on stone benches.
“Come in, come in,” Aurekdel said.
“We aren’t eating in the dining hall?”
“We need to get to know each other.” Aurekdel stood and motioned to a delicate chair made of reeds and woven grass, like the bed. “I brought you a more comfortable chair and I’ve tried to have the chefs prepare food you’ll find more familiar. We have grilled fish, and this is an herb sauce but it’s on the side. These little breads are very simple.” He lifted a lid from a clay pot, releasing steam. Kajira was already flying over to sniff. “This is also very plain. It’s a soup made of the most mildly flavored greens we grow down here with some of the spices your caravan brought. Of course, once we have the trade routes well established, we’ll be able to get more familiar foods and furniture.”
I could tell he wanted me to feel at home. That did help loosen some of my nerves. “Thank you. It looks good. I am very hungry.”
He remained standing as I limped to the chair, and put a hand on my back. “Don’t be afraid to ask me for things, Himika. I realize that you’re the one leaving your home in order to enter an unwilling marriage. I want your happiness.”
“Okay.” I remained quite wary. He still reminded me far too much of Emperor Leonidas. Although this court was even more informal. I couldn’t imagine Leonidas dining in such humble surroundings with one of his men.
“Now, Seron, what were you saying? He shaped the rock into claws?”
“Yeah, and he took the head off the statue. Maybe the Traitor King is freaked out over the discovery of the surface world.”
“I don’t know how much of an advantage I’ve gained by my alliance with the surface world,” Aurek said. “Supplies will help immensely, but that will take time. The surface world has their own problems to deal with, and the southern passage is so narrow. We can’t get that many goods in one go. We need to get the north gate back.”
“We’re nowhere near that yet,” Seron said.
“I know…so we just have to keep ahead of him.” Aurek canted slightly toward me. “I don’t want you to worry. You are perfectly safe here. But I want you to know what’s going on in the kingdom, and…”
“I want to know. Even if it’s bad.”
“It’s not that bad. At least, I’ve kept it all together this long. But I need your help. One of my primary weapons in keeping up morale is—”
“Cockiness,” Seron supplied.
“Confidence.” Aurek frowned. “I would be lying if I said my rule hasn’t had a lot of harrowing moments, but no matter what happens, I stay relaxed. Lots of wine and trips to the hot baths. No panicking is allowed around here. Then I tell everyone we’re going to win. And we do.”
“Lots of women too,” Seron said. “I trust you’re going to give that up now?”
I stiffened, almost dropping the serving spoon as I served myself some soup. “My lord, to be perfectly honest, this is a business marriage and of course we have to do our duty once, but after that, I don’t care if—“
“Do you really want to get off that easy?” Aurek’s smile was sly. “You haven’t tasted what I have to offer yet. And I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Well—we’re not in love,” I stammered. “If you have girls you already like, you’ll be happier with them. I don’t have any experience.”
“You might like to get some, then.”
“Maybe she’s asexual,” Seron said.
“Maybe you’re asexual,”
Aurek snapped back.
“I’m the only one trying to follow the rules around here! I like women, the Champion is just—” Seron’s skin took on a blue-gray undertone that was, maybe, a blush.
“You two must really be close,” I said. “You remind me of me and my twin brother.”
“We’re the same age,” Aurek said. “And we grew up together.”
“It’s just that one of us is more important,” Seron said.
“Which one?” Aurek flaked fish with a fork. “You’re the one who keeps this kingdom together. I can only do so much.”
“That is like me and Rin,” I said. “Exactly.”
“Not anymore,” Aurek said. “You’re important now, Himika, and soon your health will be restored and your life can begin. And I hope you will be important to me, and likewise, because the fact remains…we’re meant to have children together, and children should come from love and affection, and…I don’t love anyone else. None of these women would sleep with me if I wasn’t the king.”
“I don’t think I’ll be any better in that regard,” I said dryly.
“But you’re stuck with me from this day forward.” He shooed Kajira off the table as she tried to crane her neck toward the fish. “Anyway, we got off track. You’re implying that this is a rock dragon with actual skill?”
“One of the rock dragons bragged about him to me,” Seron said. “He said he looks like a high dragon and called him a ‘god man’.” He shrugged. “Himika saw him. She said he looks like a regular man. Right?”
“Yes. I did see him. He didn’t look like a rock dragon at all. He was tall and had the presence of a man. I got a very bad feeling from him, too. He seemed very—upset that some of the rock dragons had been killed. My guard and I watched him take the head off the statue.”
“Was he a young man?”
“I suppose he might have been around my age…”
Aurek considered this a moment. “There are half breeds, of course. They’re a little sharper and bigger than your usual rock dragon.”
“But not like that. Half breeds are never this sharp,” Seron said. “He dropped rocks from the ceiling and it seemed targeted. Not a single rock dragon got taken out. That suggests a high level of skill.”
“You know what they say about the Traitor King.”
“What do they say about the Traitor King?” I asked.
“Of course they’re going to call him that,” Seron said. “He’s made the rock dragons his slaves. Of course people are going to say he fucks them. I doubt it. Gods know he’s got enough hot mist dragon ladies worshipping him.”
“Well,” Aurek said. “I still wouldn’t put it past him. Talk about an asshole…”
“I heard that, um…mist dragons are not allowed in court,” I said hesitantly. “Doesn’t he have a tiny bit of a point in being upset?”
“Yes,” Aurek said. “Mist dragons were barred at court ever since a few of them enchanted the entire court hundreds of years ago. It didn’t come out of nowhere.”
“Couldn’t any dragon attack the court? Is it fair to punish an entire race of dragons?”
“Probably not, but now we’re at war after centuries of animosity. It isn’t easy to walk that back. They killed my parents. They’ve killed a lot of people’s parents—and lovers, and siblings, and friends.”
“So that’s it, I guess? You’re just going to keep killing each other.”
“I didn’t think you were a sunshine and roses type of princess,” Aurek said.
“I’m not!”
“Do you think I can just call this off?”
“No… It just seems so senseless.”
“It does,” Seron said. “It would be nice if we could use the discovery of the sky world to push for peace somehow.”
Aurek tapped his claws together. “How?” When Seron just frowned at his plate, he turned to me again. “Did your father ever talk to you about these things, Himika?”
“About governing the kingdom? Not really.”
“What do women do up there?” Aurek asked.
“Women do rule sometimes. But I was treated differently from everyone else, to be honest. It isn’t my fault. I wanted to do things. But you’ve seen how…my health is.” I was trying very hard not to blame him directly. I wanted to hate all of the dragons, and I was not inclined to trust charismatic rulers, but I also knew the only way out of this was to get way too close to King Aurekdel. It would go easier if I let myself like him a little bit.
“I see. It has more to do with low expectations of people who have physical weaknesses than your sex.”
“I think so.”
“Does your brother see me as a weak king?”
“Rin was the only one who didn’t coddle me,” I said. “He worried about my health, but he tried not to let that change how he treated me. So…maybe not, but I don’t really know. He hardly said a word about you.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Seron said.
“It certainly does matter,” Aurek said. “I need to know how I’ll be judged when I go to the Sky Kingdom. We need strong alliances and trust. I need their faith in me…”
“Will you go to Capamere soon?” I asked. I wasn’t used to calling my own world ‘the Sky Kingdom’. It was just the regular world to me.
“I want to arrange it, but—well, we’ll talk about that later.”
“What did you think of Empress Phoebe’s guardian Niko when he was here?” I asked. “Since he’s a mist dragon?”
“Niko,” Seron said. “Yes. We should invite him back here and talk to him about how to deal with the mist dragons. Maybe he could broker peace.”
“He’s a stranger to everyone,” Aurek said. “I don’t know if that’s much of a position.”
“He told us his mother wanted him to serve the priestess,” Seron said. “And the priestess is the ally of the true king—you. Whoever his mother was, she wanted him to reunite the kingdoms. There are pockets of mist dragons who don’t trust the Traitor King either, but they’re not welcome here. Maybe he could help us change that and we could cut this rebellion off at the knees.”
“Maybe,” Aurek said, and I got this feeling he felt like Seron had crossed a line. Maybe the king’s champion was just supposed to fight and not get too involved in that sort of thing.
Still, Aurek and Seron seemed so familiar with each other that they must have conversations like this a lot.
“That’s a good idea,” I said. “Niko would seem neutral, right? So people might trust him.”
“Aurek just doesn’t like the mist dragons,” Seron said, a little more gently. “I understand.”
Aurek laughed a little. “This is too much for dinner.”
Seron gave me a silent look across the table, as if warning me that Aurek was always like this. I could only guess that he didn’t want to deal with the mist dragon problem. Was Aurek a weak king after all, then?
I don’t know how to tell…
I was afraid my brother might not make the strongest emperor on his own. He never wanted to rule. But when he finally got roped into it, he was sharing the job with the priestess and her four guardians—plus, one of the guardians was my brother’s male lover, Gilbert. I was hopeful that while Rin might be a weak ruler on his own, in a group of six he certainly had strengths to offer.
I had a funny twinge when Seron looked at me.
I had known Seron on his own, and he was so shy when he tried to talk to me. Seeing Aurek and Seron together, they seemed to belong together. Seron was more confident when Aurek was around, and Aurek obviously relied on Seron too.
My heart suddenly seemed confused. Am I marrying Aurek or Seron?
Why do I feel like it might be both?
Chapter Eleven
Himika
Seron showed me back to my bedroom after dinner, carrying the lantern and keeping a close eye on me.
“Where is my head guard?” I asked.
He gave me a rather uncomfortable look. “Well, they will also
be giving him the sessi mist and instructing him on protocol here. When that’s done…I’m sure you’ll see him.”
Protocol? I wondered. This place hardly seemed to have protocol.
Raia and another girl were guarding my room, while an older man was sitting crosslegged on the floor. He got to his feet when I entered.
“This is the princess, then?”
“Yes,” Seron said. “Himika, this is Morlis the crystal shaper. He’s going to look at your foot. It might hurt, so I’m going to stick close and try to help with the healing. Raia, you might want to take the princess’ hand.”
I blanched. “How much will it hurt?”
Morlis squinted at my foot. “Oh, dear. Well, let’s see it with the bandages off.”
I was getting very nervous, but I sat down on the edge of the bed. I hated for Seron and Raia to see my weird foot, but if there was any chance of a full recovery, I had to take it. I would never be able to fight if my foot was crippled. I nudged off my slipper and started unwinding the bandages.
There it was, all misshapen, bones bulging at somewhat weird angles. Morlis immediately grabbed the foot and I flinched.
“Hmm…mmhm…”
“Oh, wow. I’m surprised you can walk on that as well as you did,” Raia said.
“Some of the bones broke and fused together in a different way,” Morlis said. “I can fix it. It will take time. There will be pain. I would suggest giving her mists.”
“What do these mists do?” I asked.
“They will take you out of it so you will feel no pain at all,” Seron said. “It’s not dangerous. But you will also have hallucinations.”
“Hallucinations? It’s like a drug?”
“They’re just like dreams, but more real,” Morlis said.
I instantly panicked. “I’ve been having so many bad dreams.”
“The only alternative is to risk feeling pain during the procedure,” Morlis said. “I’m afraid that might be worse than any dream, but if I can fix your foot, then you’ll walk normally again.”
The Kingdoms of Sky and Shadow Box Set Page 8
