by Renee Carr
“Alright,” she said. “So at all costs, the wolves should be distracted from there.”
“Right,” John said as they advanced. “Advice for the troops, my lady?”
“You want me to do it?” she asked, looking at him.
“It’s your battle plan,” he said, and she turned around, sucking air into her lungs.
“Attention!” she called out. “We are going to take the tunnels all the way to the gates. You need to move fast when we get under the entrances. The wolves have a keen sense of smell and they will know you are coming if you stand under them. Once at the gate, we will attack them from the back, hopefully in time with Nathan attacking from above.”
“Do you want us transformed, my lady?” one asked.
“Uh...” Sarah wasn’t planning on that. “I think more of us could come through the entrance in human form. Perhaps the back two rows can transform, as the line of defense for any that break through our lines.”
“We would be safer to transform,” John said to her as they moved. “We should move to the back.”
She gritted her teeth, trying to think of the right words. She didn’t want to push a transformation right now, especially since they had just done so not 12 hours before.
“We should lead from the front,” she said.
“They understand their orders,” John argued with her. “We need to be safe, for the end of this battle.”
“I...”
“Sarah, please,” he begged her. “I can’t take any more loss today.”
“Fine,” she agreed, although she knew it was a bad idea.
She didn’t know exactly what she had in mind when they came out of the tunnels. She expected some wolves or at least a small troop. But what she found at the entrance of the castle was an army. This was no little mutiny. She could see from the numbers that there was at least one fully formed army, if not two.
“He lied to us,” she said. “He flat-out lied.”
“The wolf Alpha will pay for this,” John said through clenched teeth. He turned around, to the troops, and made the hand signal to push them forward. In the same motion, he pulled Sarah back, so that they could transform with the remainder of the group.
Sarah looked up as she transformed to see Nathan on the top of the castle turret. In dragon form, he looked furious, rather than his normal put-together self. He let out a giant blast of fire and then swooped down, followed by what seemed like half the palace guard.
Sarah flapped her wings to get off the ground so that she could see the battle unfolding. The transformation felt rough, and she felt unstable as she tried to hover. John was beside her, but he was completely focused on the attack, roaring out orders or blasting fire where he could.
Sarah could see that she had judged the situation perfectly. Those that had broken through the line from the human attackers were taken down by the transformed dragons in the back, or by Nathan’s army. Everything was happening so fast that it was hard to keep track. Her mind felt like it was playing chess, watching every motion and trying to calculate several moves ahead.
One of the wolves jumped up and she blasted fire down, pushing her wings to maintain a steady level so her attack could hit exactly where she wanted.
She heard Joshua’s roar and could see that he had chosen to transform from the south tower, swooping down with the remainder of the guards. She could hear screams from inside the palace, and she knew that some of them were breaking through.
Her mind swirled as she tried to calculate what to do next. Technically, they should be winning. Her tactic was sound, but there were so many wolves that it was taking longer than she wanted.
Sarah flapped twice, and then lowered herself, trying to aim as low to the ground as she could. She wasn’t the best with fire because she didn’t practice often. What she tried to do was blast the wolves at their feet, as they were lower to the ground. Her first blast hit the castle wall, and she growled, trying again. This time, she got several of them. She smelled burnt flesh and she felt sick, but she persisted.
Slowly, the wolves were starting to fall. The dragons were winning, and Sarah calculated that it would be another 3 minutes before they had completely overtaken them.
Perhaps it was that realization that made her falter, or perhaps it was that she couldn’t hold out any longer, regardless of what would happen. She started to feel dizzy and she tried to correct it, but her body felt shaky.
Sarah gave herself one final burst of flight and managed to get herself back to the gate, where there was currently an empty area. Her vision swam, and her wings felt cold. Sarah tried to get herself behind the gate and looked for a soft spot. However, the next thing she saw was the ground rushing up toward her.
She hit the ground as her vision went completely back. The last thing she saw was John rushing toward her and transforming back to human as he landed beside her. She felt cold, and her eyes rolled back. After that, there was only blackness.
Chapter 16
When Sarah awoke, she had no idea where she was. She felt like she was lying down, but her head was spinning, so she wasn’t quite sure which direction she was pointing. She was in human form, and she was cold, which was not usual for a dragon. Dragons almost always ran hot, because of the fire inside of them.
Her ears picked up sounds before her eyes managed to see straight. She heard beeping and when she moved, she felt her skin pulling.
Her eyes flickered open, and she saw that she was in the medical bay. She was in a private room, and she was hooked up to several monitors and a few IV lines.
She heard voices outside in the hallway and recognized one of them as John. She couldn’t quite find a way to speak, her throat sore, but she did manage to make a sound that alerted him. It wasn’t quite a groan or a whimper, but it was clear that she was confused and needing his presence.
She saw John appear in the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling of panic in her just disappeared as he stepped closer.
“You’re awake,” he said gently. Up close, she could see that he looked exhausted. She had no idea how long she had been out, but judging by John’s face, it looked like it had been several days.
“What happened?” she asked, although she had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly what happened. She hoped that John would tell her that a wolf bit her or that she had been shot, or anything other than that her own body had given out on her.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” he said, going to hold her hand. “I can explain everything to you when you are feeling better.”
“John, what happened?” she asked again, sitting up on her arms. “Tell me. How long was I out?”
“About 24 hours,” he said. “You should be feeling better soon. The IVs...”
She looked up and recognized the IV flowing into her arm. The red liquid was concentrated dragon fire, meant to speed up their healing process.
She sighed, sinking back.
“I know what they do,” she said. His face contorted in confusion.
“You do?” he asked. “Has this... happened before?”
“Yes,” she said, although it nearly killed her to say it. “Several times.”
“Sarah,” John looked at her, and it was a look that sent shivers down her spine. She felt like she had been caught at something. “Do you know what’s plaguing you?”
“Yes,” she said, looking away. “I do.”
He was silent for a long time.
“So you are aware that your blood volume drops dramatically whenever you...”
“Yes,” Sarah answered. “I’m aware. I’m aware that my human form and dragon form do not match with each other. I’m aware my blood volume does not expand properly. I’m aware that...” she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m aware that I’m not the strong queen you thought I was.”
He looked completely baffled by that statement.
“Sorry, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s progressive, John
,” she said. “It may not be this year. It may not be in 5 years, or even 10 years, if I’m lucky. But...”
“Okay,” he said, and her brow furrowed.
“Okay?” she repeated. “I deceived you because I didn’t think it was a big deal. I didn't think it would get in the way. I figured that... I dunno. That it wouldn’t matter because... I didn’t want it to matter. But I’m sorry. I should have told you. I should have... I understand if you don’t want...”
“Sarah, please take a breath,” he said. “It’s important that you breathe.”
“But you understand what I’m saying?”
“If you are suggesting that I don’t want you as my wife,” he said, “or that it changes the fact that you’re my mate, the answer is no.”
“But as your queen...”
“Sarah, life is short,” he said. “And life is a progressive degenerative condition. Do you want to be queen?”
“I want to be with you,” she said, meeting his eyes. She had never actually fancied herself in love with him until this moment. At this moment, she realized she was in love with him and she didn’t want to be apart from him.
“Alright,” he said, and leaned down, kissing her forehead. “Then we’ll figure this out.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I’m sure,” he replied, pulling up a chair to sit down beside her bed. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Did we win?” she asked and he nodded.
“We did,” he said. “And we took your advice. Those who survived the battle are currently in the dungeons. We are going to get some answers out of them.”
“Good,” she blew out a breath of relief. “How many survived?”
“About 4,” he said.
“4?” Sarah answered, stunned. “That’s it?”
He winced.
“It was a tough battle,” he said.
“Was anyone... how did our side do?”
“We lost a few guards,” he said. “But your strategy seemed to hold out and most of us came home safely.”
“Are your brothers alright?”
“Yes,” John said. “Although Cory is seething mad, as usual, to have been left out of all the action.”
“Of course,” she said. “I imagine it’s not easy, to sit on the sidelines and watch.”
“He let us know that about 399 different ways in the past few hours,” John said. Sarah blinked as she felt her arm burn, and resisted the urge to rip the IV out of her arm.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said with a sigh. “At least, as well as I can be.”
She squeezed his hand.
“I know,” she said. “It’s not going to be easy. And I suppose we’re going to have to tell your brothers that I...”
“No,” John said. “Not if you don’t want them to know. It’s not their business, and I can take care of you.”
“You would be willing to keep it a secret?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes,” he promised her. “That’s clearly what you wanted. We can say you were injured in battle, and the medics will not tell anyone if I order it. We can seal the records.”
“If you are willing to do that, that would be the best, strategically,” she said. “The kingdom does not need to know that the queen is weak.”
“The queen is no weaker than the king,” he muttered. “Especially of late.”
“Your father...” she suddenly remembered. “Have you moved forward with that?”
“No,” he said. “I couldn’t possibly stand to bury my father when I knew that you... weren’t beside me.”
“I’m glad you waited,” she said. “I feel as if his spirit would be looking down, and it would be comforted by seeing that we are standing together.”
“I was worried that you wouldn’t wake up,” he said and she heard a crack in his voice. Sarah gathered all her strength, sitting up.
“John, I’m always going to be here,” she assured him. “I promise. And I can be strong for the moments when you feel you can’t be.”
“And what if those moments are all the time?” he asked. “More often than not? I don’t... when you were out, Sarah, I felt like I couldn’t go on. I don’t know how to run a kingdom. I don’t know how to be the final voice on making decisions.”
“But you do,” she insisted. “You’ve been taught to do it since birth. You are your father’s son, and you are a good, strong Alpha.”
“Not without my queen,” he said, leaning over to kiss her. She smiled as he kissed her, but pulled back quickly.
“I probably don’t taste so wonderful,” she said.
“You are perfect,” he murmured as he brushed the hair back from her face.
“I want to get out of here,” she said. “Did they give you an indication of when I could?”
He looked up at her IV bag, which was mostly empty.
“Probably soon,” he said. “They said as soon as you woke up and were stable. And since everything else seems to be alright, I imagine we could spring you free.”
“I hope I’m never a prisoner of war,” she said as she relaxed on her pillows. “I would go crazy.”
“I don’t think that’s a consideration when they capture you,” he said with a smile.
The medics had to be convinced to let Sarah go. However, once she explained that it was a frequent occurrence in her life, their tone changed.
“You require...”
“I know,” Sarah said. “I know. I’ve known for a while. But as long as we are willing to keep it secret, I would be willing to explore more regular options.”
“My lady...” the medic said. “As queen, your health conditions need to be disclosed publicly for the...”
“No,” John said immediately. “That is the law of the old kingdom. This is my kingdom now, and I make the rules. The queen’s health conditions are no one’s business but mine. Not the princes’, not the kingdom’s, no one’s.”
“The constitution would have to be...”
“Then we will change it,” John said. “As of now, this is the new law, which will remain in effect until the day that I vacate the throne.”
“May your rule be long and prosperous,” the poor medic said, bowing his head. “Let me just start the discharge process.”
“Thank you,” John said and turned back to Sarah. As soon as they were alone, she raised an eyebrow.
“Can you just change the constitution?”
“I’m sure... there’s a way,” he put in, and she smiled.
“Do I have to use my law classes to help you too?”
“You have to use everything you have for me,” he said. “I can be a mess, Sarah. It may not seem that way, but my mind can be dark at the best of times.”
“You have every excuse for your mind to be dark right now,” she said. “However, it appears your mind is also cloudy if you think changing the constitution is easy. I understand the reasoning behind such a law, but to write it into the constitution...” Sarah shook her head. “At least I’m getting to use everything I learned in school.”
“Mmm,” he said as the medic came back with gloves on to disconnect her IV. The two of them didn’t say much while the discharge process went on, but as soon as they were alone again, their conversation continued. He helped her off the bed, wrapping a shawl around her shoulders and then allowing her a moment for her legs to stabilize.
“I think you should take the rest of the day off,” he said. “I know you are eager to go back to work, but the next few days will need strength.”
“Only if you bring me paperwork,” she said. “Or something to do. I will go mad sitting in bed all day.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged,” he smiled, slipping his arm around her waist.
“I can make the funeral arrangements,” she offered. “So that you don’t have to dwell on that. Tell me what he would have wanted.”
“I don’t know what he would have wanted,” he admitted. “He talked
so much about securing the throne... but he didn’t talk about what would happen the moment it was secure for him.”
“It sounds like he would want his sons around him,” Sarah said. “As forefront in the ceremony. He would want the world to see exactly what he left behind.”
“You’re an angel,” John said, kissing her on the head.
“I’m your queen,” she corrected him, gazing into his eyes. “And I will always be by your side.”
She knew everyone was watching, but she didn’t care as he wrapped his arms around her. She wished this was the worst trial they would have to go through during her rule. However, she had a feeling that this was just the beginning.
Chapter 17
Planning a royal funeral was something that Sarah didn’t learn in school. However, based on what she knew of the former Alpha, and what she knew of his sons, she somehow managed to orchestrate everything from one side of John’s bed. Or rather, it was their bed, as he constantly reminded her. They hadn’t seen much of each other, because John had spent most of his waking hours on the throne, trying to sort through the fallout from the werewolf attack. However, the day of his father’s funeral, John managed to let everything else drop. There were nobles arriving every few minutes, it seemed, for the funeral, and more condolence letters than John could possibly read.
“There was one thing I wanted to ask you,” she said. “About protocol. Do you want us to... be in royal regalia?”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “Obviously, we should be dressed properly... but we haven’t been coronated yet.”
“Right,” she put her hands on her waist. “That’s a whole other ceremony to plan.”
“You don’t have to take everything on,” he told her. “My darling, there are people to help.”
“I know,” she sighed. “I just... need to do something. As far as I can tell, we have not made any progress on the werewolf rebellion...”
“Well, we have, actually,” John said as he handed her a letter. Sarah read it and almost choked.
“Stanley refuses to come?” she exclaimed. “Has he lost his mind?”
