“I’m not sure…”
“All the more reason I want to talk,” I said. “I want to stand right alongside you, Seron. Aurek is right, I think you know how to be a king, you’re just nervous.” I suddenly noticed he still had a bloody scratch on the underside of his arm. “Goodness, you need a bandage. You’re bleeding. Why didn’t you say something?”
“I love you,” he said suddenly, taking me off guard. “You’re eager to be a true queen, aren’t you? Your sickness held you back and now you’re ready to conquer the world.”
“Something like that,” I admitted. “I can hardly believe how much things have changed. When you met me I had to walk with a cane. That seems like a different girl.”
He spread a hand on my head. “If you weren’t awkwardly short, I’d kiss you right now.”
“Awkwardly short? What, do you want me to be seven feet tall?”
“You could stand to be more than three feet tall,” he teased. He kissed me anyway, although it was true that he had to bend over quite far. “I don’t think you realize what you did today,” he said.
“I suppose I don’t.”
“When those rock dragons stopped fighting us and bowed to Ezeru, it gave me hope that this war could actually end for the first time in…well, my entire life. We’ve been fighting Dvaro for a generation now. It would be a delicious irony if his own creation was his undoing. Either way…I saw what peace could look like. And it was beautiful, Himika.”
“We will have peace. I know it,” I said. “It will be beautiful.”
“I’m afraid that Aurek and I are headed for a confrontation,” he said. “I’m not even sure he wants peace.”
“I’m sure he does. He was the one who immediately tried to calm everyone down when Viruta tried to stir trouble.”
“That’s different. He wants peace here, but he also wants to fight all the mist dragons to the death.”
“He doesn’t really come across as such a brutal person,” I said.
“Don’t get me wrong. I love Aurek and as long as he was the king, I followed his orders. But his mindset is us versus them. He has a thirst for blood.” That line of worry between his brows deepened. “We said nothing would change, that we’d rule together, but I don’t think I can hold to that. If I’m really the king, then I want to try to end this war with as few deaths as possible, even if it means that Dvaro doesn’t fully pay for his crimes. If I don’t do this, I am no king at all, because I am not following my own convictions. As I see it, if we try to get revenge, they’ll try to get revenge. The cycle will never break. Aurek has a visceral need to see Dvaro actually suffer, but…” His hand was squeezing mine hard. “What do you think, Himika? You suffered not unlike we did. Your father died, and the Emperor assaulted you. Did you need to see him dead?”
I suddenly felt stripped raw. “What a question…”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up those bad memories. I just want to know if I’m being fair.”
“I did want to see him die. In fact…I tried to kill him myself…but I wasn’t strong enough.”
“Himika…” Seron put a hand on my head. “See, when I hear that…when I see the pain in your eyes…”
“But I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t always know what’s really right. I do think the Traitor King should be punished. I don’t think we should go to war with all mist dragons. Some of them might be following him because they’re afraid, or because they don’t have a choice.”
Seron nodded. “And if Aurekdel and I disagree, what will you do? What should I do?”
I swallowed. “I suppose I’ll have to choose. And then I’ll have to remind you both that it’s two against one.”
He took my hand in his. “Oszin calls you Moth, and Aurek calls you his gem. I wish I had a name for you.”
“Well, you have to come up with one!”
“Hmm.”
“I can’t do it for you.”
“You’re like a beacon of light. No…lantern? Candle? I can’t call you my candle.”
I laughed. “You’re overthinking it.”
“Aurek didn’t ask me. He just called me something. Let’s go to the bedroom and I’ll patch you up.”
He leaned down, his arms spreading around my waist, and kissed me. My breath quickened with need almost immediately, just from the feel of him…the strength and size of his hands around my waist. “By the way, I do like how tall you are…,” I murmured. “I don’t mind feeling small if it’s you.”
“I’m glad. Because I like it too.” He picked me up so my whole weight was in the crook of his arm, like I was a kid. He was the only man I’d ever met who could have swept me up that way.
In the bedroom, I asked Raia to bring some bandages and salve, and I wiped blood from Seron’s skin with the warm water. I made him disrobe; his chest was scratched too. On his forearms, his skin changed to dark purplish dragon scales. His black hair fell down his bare back, following the line of his spine. I moved it aside to kiss the back of his neck. My fingers traced the lines of faint scars past. “You and Oszin both have so many nicks and scratches, like second hand furniture,” I murmured.
He looked at me over his shoulder. “What a thing to say to your king.”
Before I knew it, he was kissing me too, lifting my skirts. “I’m going to take you right here and now,” he said.
“See, you just need to channel that energy into ruling the country,” I said.
“You’re so much more enjoyable to rule than the rest of the country,” he said with a grin, flopping me onto the bed, tugging his clothes away from his cock, and claiming me with more raw need than anyone. I moved with him, taking him deeper and deeper, moaning with these few moments of raw, fumbling passion we could steal for ourselves.
Certainly, I should been satisfied after that. I shouldn’t have been thinking about anything else.
“King Seron?” Raia called from outside. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I think you’d better say something about all those rock dragons in the parade grounds. People are getting restless about it. I mean…what are they doing there?”
Seron pulled on his boots. “Where is Ezeru? I suppose I need to dub him King of the Rock Dragons or something.”
“I think he’s out there too,” Raia said. “He sure isn’t talking to anyone.”
“Raia, gather everyone in the Hall of Rose and Ruby,” Seron said.
“I’ll find Ezeru,” I said.
I must have sounded too eager. Seron shook his head. “A courier can find Ezeru. Not you.”
“He’s not going to hurt me. You don’t need to worry.”
“Why you, Himika?” He looked down at me. “I am not going to share you with anyone else.”
Now I was blushing. “I want to speak to him, Seron, that’s all.”
“That better be all.” He gave me an intent look and then let me go with one final squeeze to my hip.
I had to admit that I had this weird crawly squirmy feeling as I was walking outside the castle and I saw Ezeru in the distance.
This feeling wasn’t the same as I’d had with anyone else. I barely knew Ezeru, really. But I had this burning urge to know more.
Plus, I felt like I did know him. He was one of those people who says a lot with small gestures. I sensed there was not much more to know. His strength, his anger, the gentler side of his nature, his pain…he’d already revealed it all.
When I saw him across the parade ground, a field of sand and rock and muddy patches with pillars of pale crystal marking a circle around like.a racing track, the rock dragons were gathered around him and he was gesturing with his hands.
His existence felt vitally important. He was so powerful. And from here, he did look like a king. I knew Dvaro and Izeria must have tormented him, but he had the soul of a leader just like Aurekdel and Seron. Several times now, I had seen his brave and decisive action.
It’s like he was meant to be mine.
I bit my lip. I had let the thought take sh
ape. Now I would never be able to push it away…
“Ezeru?” I walked toward them, although I felt a little weird interrupting the gathering.
He quickly broke off from the rock dragons and bowed to me. “Queen Himika.” He looked at me with wild eyes. “Don’t you understand? You should not be alone with me.”
“Come on. What are you going to do?”
“Don’t—don’t ask that.”
Behind him, I saw a number of little rock figures and pieces of furniture like children’s toys. The rock dragons were moving them around.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I thought—the rock Dvaro was so effective. So I made Dvaro’s whole court out of rock so I could try to show them what could happen.”
“Ah! So this mean looking lady must be Izeria…”
“Yes. These are some of Dvaro’s ministers, this is Peri, these are rock dragons… Truthfully, it’s easier for me to explain things this way too.”
One of the rock dragons was holding Dvaro and knocking the rock dragons out of the way. “Rawr, rawr, rawr!”
I couldn’t help laughing. “So they are learning, huh?”
“Yes.”
“You speak their language.”
He nodded and then took a deep breath. “But you should still go away.”
“It’s really that uncontrollable…?”
“It isn’t that I would take advantage of you. It’s that…I don’t want to hate the men who have taken me in.” There was a growl in his voice, like it might be too late.
My whole body felt more alive in his presence. I can’t go into heat for him too, can I? Why does it seem stronger every day?
“I want to introduce you to the court as the King of the Rock Dragons,” I said. “That’s why I’m here. Seron’s a little nervous about giving speeches, and I want to do it anyway. These dragons need to get used to the new Himika.” I flexed my arms. “And you can’t get rid of me either,” I said, my voice coming out a little more…whispery than I intended.
I imagined what it would be like for Ezeru to be there with us at night. I saw my hands in his thick black hair. I saw Aurek, welcoming, pressing a glass of wine into his hand with that wicked smile of his. I saw all four of them…
“I don’t want you to be alone,” I said. “I don’t want you to sleep on any cold floors. So please…let me give you this honor, Ezeru, so you can win your people back from Dvaro.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “With your eyes so…”
He didn’t finish. I nodded at him. “Follow me, now.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ezeru
I followed the princess back into the palace. The passageways were so grand and beautiful, infused with subtle light and a pervading cozy warmth, a world away from the ancient castle where I had grown up. It was more cave than it was the work of dragon hands.
Himika walked briskly now, her head held high. Aurek and Seron were waiting for us inside one of the hallways. I could hear a din of voices nearby. We must be close to the hall.
“We just realized that he needs a crown if he’s going to be a king,” Aurek said.
“Oh, yes! Do we have a crown?” Himika asked.
I shook my head. “No,” I hissed. “That is far too much. All of this is too much. I don’t think you should call me a king at all. Clearly, your people put a lot of stock in having the right blood in order to be a king.”
Seron cringed, and I hastily added, “I don’t mean any insult, King Seron, but—I’m considering how they will react to me claiming a title.”
“You’re not claiming it if we’re forcing you into it,” Aurekdel said. “And the rock dragons don’t have a lineage.”
“Nor will they,” I said, as he hit close to the cruelty of my existence. As much as my body was screaming with raw instinct, I would never bring anyone with my own blood into this world. “I would never have a child.”
“We don’t have our royal treasures here, exactly,” Seron said. “We have a dusty room of junk left behind when we moved to Hemara.”
“Maybe you can’t find a crown just sitting around,” Aurek said. “But we should have something for the ceremony. A ring would do.”
“I really hope not too much will be made of this,” I said.
“Himika, will you come help me pick something?”
“Of course!” King Seron and the queen dashed off. I crossed my arms.
“I don’t like this at all,” I said. “I’m not a king and you know it.”
Aurek turned my way. “Well, you and Seron are alike in a way,” he said. “I know you don’t want us to give you a title, but words and titles do have power. Every time we say ‘King Ezeru’, it is a stab at the so-called king and queen who tried to make you their pawn, isn’t it?” He looked contemplative. “Dvaro and Izeria’s early days were before my time, but from what I understand, all they wanted at first was to be acknowledged as the king of the mist dragons. They wanted to meet the king and queen and they refused. Maybe all of this could have been averted if they agreed to his title. But then, we already had years of mistrust behind us…and the moment they refused, he launched his first attack. He fully expected them to say no.”
“Dvaro and Izeria would not have stopped at acknowledgment,” I said. “They want complete control of everything and everyone around them. You are nothing like Dvaro.”
“If you really want to help us defeat them, and I believe that you do, embrace your mantle. I hope you and King Seron will forge a strong alliance for the battles to come. I don’t care who takes Dvaro and Izeria down. Just that it is done.” I heard a faint melancholy in his voice.
“Sir…I must say…”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Aurek said, sharpening.
“Dvaro cursed your name so often. He considered you a rival worthy of respect,” I said. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent so much energy.”
“That’s so sweet.” Aurek waved a hand. “I really don’t want to mourn the truth. In so many ways, Seron was already the leader of the country. He can do this. Maybe I was holding him back. I have a bad habit of dominating the situation.”
“I want to say this.” I cleared my throat. “The fact that you would give another man your crown and wish him well is…shocking to me. And the fact that the queen is allowed to split her affections between all three of you… I’ve never seen anything like it. Once Dvaro has something, he never lets it go without a fight.”
“I can’t say it’s easy to let go of the crown. It’s because I love Seron and facts are facts. I don’t feel especially generous, but I would never take something from Seron that he deserves, and knowing I might have taken it from him all along…well. I take comfort in knowing that I did my best.”
Chapter Eighteen
Himika
One thing about dragon palaces: they are full of winged cats. The cats just blend into the background most of the time, perched on their owners’ shoulders or finding a nice glowy crystal to sleep on.
But they weren’t ordinary cats. We had some winged cats in Gaermon, so I knew well how clever they were. Aurek told me that the cats were considered the messengers of the gods.
Since the rock dragons arrived, the castle cat population seemed to have gotten restless. As Seron tried to remember which way the storage room was, cats were following us everywhere. A maid was trailing us with some sponges in hand, because not all the cats were great about going outside or back to the cattery to do their business.
“This is it,” Seron said, opening the creaking door to a room full of shelves and trunks. Two dozen cats immediately shoved their pointy heads through the door crack.
I laughed.
“Well, they always do like going in locked rooms,” Seron said, holding up his lantern.
The room was full of broken furniture, tattered cloth, disintegrating papers: lots of Gaermoni things, I thought, that were too precious to throw away and too ancient to be used. A thick layer o
f dust covered everything. I heard some skittering and a moment later, a mouse raced past my feet, chased out by an excited kitten.
“Yikes! How long since anyone’s come in here?”
“Who knows. This palace is so ancient and we’ve been piling junk in here for countless generations. Most of it’s from your world, isn’t it? I don’t know if we’ll find much. All the good jewelry is back in Hemara. What are we going to crown him with? A broken chair? Old fishing equipment? A cloak that’s more cobweb than fabric?”
Lots of the cats were swarming the back of the room, maybe in pursuit of more mice. Their wings stirred up dust, making me sneeze. One of them pawed at a pile of papers, stirring it up, and then sat down to pee on them.
The maid was on the cat in a flash. “No!” She grabbed the little calico as it let out an indignant squeak.
The cats in the back of the room were trying to pick something up with their teeth. It seemed too heavy for them.
“Hm.” Seron held out the lantern. “What’ve you got back there?”
“Kajira?” Of course my cat was there pawing at whatever it was.
“Mrow?”
“I think I can get back there,” I said.
Seron grabbed my collar. “Don’t get your good clothes dirty.” He stripped off the short silk robe I had worn fishing so I just had a plain shirt on underneath. “Be careful.”
I had to carefully clamber over the broken furniture. “This is fun,” I said. “Rin used to play on—ahhh—” I had to sneeze again. My sneeze only seemed to stir up more dust and I ended up sneezing four time, clutching onto a pile of creaky broken chairs, while the cats bristled at all the noise.
“Looks like a lot of fun,” Seron said drily, eyeing a sledgehammer resting against the wall with some other tools. “Do you want me to just smash my way through?”
“No. I’m back here. I can barely see.” I felt my way through the cats, who seemed to be wrestling over something with jagged edges. After I poked myself on it, I realized it was a circlet made of rock, smooth on the underside, and reaching up into irregular points on the top. “Seron! I found a crown!” I tried to put it on, but it was too large for my head and quite heavy. “It’s perfect for Ezeru!”
The Kingdoms of Sky and Shadow Box Set Page 39
