The Scholar Queen

by Renee Carr

  “I shall be twice what he was,” John responded and then gave the signal to attack.

  Battle was nothing like he thought it would be. For all the stories that he had been told, and for all the textbooks he had read, he thought that he would be prepared. The attack outside the gate should have prepared him, or the skirmishes that he had been witness to. But battle, it turned out, was nothing he was prepared for.

  He knew that a proper Alpha should hang back, and give orders and provide motivation. He tried that, for a moment or two. He watched his troops rush past him and into the werewolf hordes. Some of his dragons began to push transformation, but the wolves were prepared, with weapons of their own. They may not have been able to naturally breathe fire or fly, but they had the technology to simulate the playing fields that the dragons liked to fight on. They had guns and arrows that shot upwards, flame throwers, and some even had mechanical wings. This was no ill-prepared army, John thought. This was an army who meant to change the face of the universe, taking down one dragon at a time.

  The only advantage the dragons seemed to have was that the wolves had not been expecting the dragons to advance in the way they did. Nathan’s message had stated that most of them would attack from the air, and the wolves were not prepared for the assault that came at their level. The message had clearly worked, but despite dragon strength, John was worried they were outnumbered.

  He thought he would be calm. He thought orders would come to him and he could remain regal and poised. But instead, his dragon form came out before he even knew what was happening.

  He saw Nathan get hit in the face, and while it was a blunt blow and his brother got up, John’s heart still skipped a beat. Joshua was already transformed, swooping everywhere in order to try and stay on top of the chaos. John set his sights on Stanley, knowing that he was the biggest dragon in the army. If anyone was going to take down the Alpha and walk away, he was.

  “Not like that!” Stanley roared at him when he recognized John starting to transform. “Not like that. Your father had more guts than you. He would have stood and fought me like a man!”

  John felt his blood boil and his jaw clench. He was certain that he could kill Stanley in a few blows as a dragon. But he would not allow the bards to tell the story of him as a coward—as a fighter who wouldn’t face his opponent on equal ground.

  He pulled his wings back and swallowed his dragon fire, landing just a few feet away from Stanley. All around him there were cries of agony and the sounds of weapons clanking. He could smell burning flesh and feel the flap of dragon wings, but he could also see the wolf technology starting to overtake them.

  “That’s better,” Stanley said, sneering at him as he took a step closer. “There’s the boy prince.”

  “I think you have forgotten that time has passed, Stanley,” John said, holding his head high. He was head and shoulders above Stanley, and he made sure to keep himself at full height. “My father is gone, and you made sure to show him one final ounce of disrespect. You put the nail in your own coffin the minute your chair was empty at his funeral.”

  “And you think your father was a saint, boy?” Stanley asked. “You clearly missed half of his rule.”

  “I learned everything I know from him,” John replied.

  “Did you?” Stanley said. “Wonderful. I knew you’d turn out to be just as much of an oppressive dictator as he was.”

  “How dare you?” John growled, clenching his jaw. “This ends here, Stanley. I will see your ashes ground into the dust as if you never were.”

  “Try it,” Stanley tensed as well. Just as John was about to attack, there was an anguished cry. Their attention was diverted for a moment to the skies above them. There were so many dragons and wolves in the sky that it was hard to see what they were focused on. However, everyone’s eyes were diverted to the edge of the property, where John recognized Sarah’s dragon form picking up Devon. “That bitch!”

  “That’s my wife,” John said. “And those are the last words that you will ever say.”

  Chapter 21

  Sarah hit the ground hard and did her very best to roll over so that Devon would not be trapped underneath her. She felt her dragon transformation shrink even as the dirt made contact with her back, and before she knew it, she was lying in human form on the cold, hard ground. She coughed once, twice, and then threw up, shielding her face with her hair to at least spare herself some of the embarrassment.

  “Are you alright?” Devon asked, as soon as he righted himself.

  Sarah looked at him in shock, wiping her mouth.

  “I just kidnapped you and you’re wondering if I’m alright?”

  Devon smiled, leaning back to sit against a tree trunk and give her space.

  “I did ask for it,” he reminded her. “And somehow, my lady, you saw that.”

  “It was obvious,” Sarah said. “I don’t have a lot of respect for the werewolves as of late... but I knew that you weren’t stupid enough to believe those plans.”

  “With all due respect, My Queen,” he said. “Very few would be stupid enough to believe such a stunt. It was only because it came with my endorsement that my captain of the guards accepted it.”

  “Why did you do it?” she asked, and he paused, looking at the sky.

  “My father has lost his mind,” he said at last. “And whether I will be considered a traitor to my people or a hero didn’t matter to me. If I did not allow the dragons to win this war, we would no longer be a race. The werewolves would be slaughtered to the point of being a few stragglers in a once strong kingdom.”

  “When did this happen?” she asked. “When did you decide to rebel?”

  “I decided years ago,” Devon said. “But it wasn’t... until your father-in-law died that I knew I had to do something”

  Sarah shook her head.

  “There are others in history who have tried what you have. It leads to more mutiny and more rebellion. And the crown prince dying, usually.”

  “I know,” Devon said. “But it was better than the alternative. Your husband has always given me some hope that things would change when he was on the throne. I hope that you do not judge me for turning against my own...” His voice cracked and Sarah realized how shaken the young wolf prince was by the situation. “My father taught me to save the kingdom, at any cost. This is the cost.”

  “And what will be the price for this gift?” Sarah asked him. “Because John and I intend to change many things, but giving equal control to the other races is not one of them. Dragons are Alphas over the rest of you, and we will not go against what nature intended.”

  “I don’t expect you to,” Devon said at last. “I just think that there could be a little more harmony. Certainly better than the last few years.”

  “Perhaps,” Sarah said with a sigh as she looked out on the battlefield. If they traced her, it would be simply minutes before they found them. She felt bile rise in her throat again, and she leaned over, gagging.

  “Are you alright, My Queen?” Devon asked again. “Were you wounded?”

  “No,” Sarah said through gritted teeth. “We can’t stay here. Are you my hostage?”

  “Yes,” Devon said. “My father, hopefully, will be more willing to negotiate if I am missing.”

  “Possibly,” Sarah said. “If John hasn’t killed him.”

  Devon sucked in a breath.

  “I would hope that I could possibly negotiate for my father’s life, in exchange for peace.”

  Sarah managed to stand and she set her jaw.

  “Not to allow him to remain on the throne.”

  “No,” Devon said. “I would be regent until his death.”

  “This is not the time or place to negotiate political deals,” Sarah muttered, as she looked up at the sky. “We have to get out of here. I can fly another few miles, and hopefully, find a place with more shelter.”

  “Can you?” Devon asked her and she looked away.

  “I have to,” she said. “It’s th
e only way to make our plan work.”

  “Well,” Devon said as he stood, “I could always transform and you could ride on me.”

  Sarah hated that idea, but she didn’t move.

  “Keep talking,” she said.

  “The dragons will be looking in the sky,” he said. “Long before the wolves get here, even with our mechanical wings. No one will expect us to take the ground route.”

  Sarah considered this plan and then nodded.

  “Fine,” she agreed at last. “How much time do you need?”

  Devon smiled.

  “You've never seen the speed with which a wolf can transform?”

  “You push your transformation,” she said. “Same as anyone else.”

  “Some of us do,” Devon said. “Others, especially when one of the moons is out, simply need the light to shine down.”

  The sky was starting to darken, and Devon was looking at a patch of moonlight that shone through the trees. He took two steps and then Sarah watched in awe as every part of him bathed in moonlight instantly transformed.

  In wolf form, he was tall, with silver-grey fur and grey eyes that seemed calm. He was clearly more comfortable in wolf form, and he even wagged his tail as he turned to look at her. Bending at his knees, he bowed down, lowering his head to the ground.

  “Oh, Creator,” Sarah breathed, and then took a step forward and swung her leg over his back. Once she was sitting securely, Devon moved forward. He took a couple of steps to make sure she was comfortable and then he flew forward at breakneck speed. It took everything Sarah had to not just tumble off of him. Apparently, riding was nowhere near as easy as keeping your balance in the air.

  She could see Devon’s eyes darting back and forth, and she knew he was calculating the distance around them, to make sure they always had an exit plan if they were discovered. They were in wolf territory, and she wasn’t familiar with the landscape at all. Eventually, Devon picked a direction and ran forward, keeping his back muscles flat so Sarah could grip onto his long fur.

  She briefly wondered if this was going to be her future. Would they somehow manage such a peace that the wolves and dragons could exist in the harmony that she existed in with Devon now? Would she and John be able to literally rewrite all the books about chaos and anger?

  Devon found a set of caves on the far end of the forest, and took the slippery slope with caution, until he bent down again, letting her off near a cave mouth with a babbling brook behind it. Sarah slid to the ground, letting her muscles relax bit before she stood up.

  “This will do,” she said, looking around as he transformed back. “But it needs to be believable that you are my hostage.”

  He sighed, looking around.

  “Would you like to burn me?” he asked. “Or tie me up?”

  “Whatever you prefer,” she said. “When they stumble upon us, and make no mistake they will, they need to believe I took you, or you will have no chance to recover your reputation.”

  “As you wish, my lady,” he said as he sat at the cave entrance. Sarah went to the stream, looking for any strong vines she could pull up to tie Devon up. She felt dizzy again and sent a prayer up to the Creator.

  Please, she said. Please, let me just pull this off.

  Eventually, she found several vines that she could bend and use to tie his hands and feet together. She didn’t dare transform again, because she was worried about collapsing, but she did manage to find some dry sticks so she could build a fire. She didn’t want to burn Devon, but she thought it would be more believable if his clothes were at least a tiny bit charred.

  “There is something else you should know,” Devon said to her as she built the fire just inside the cave mouth. “There was a traitor amongst you.”

  “What?” she said. “In the palace?”

  “Not quite in the palace, but someone who visited. A friend of yours.”

  “A friend of mind?” Sarah gaped. “What friends do I have in the palace that would betray me? I don’t know anyone there yet.”

  “A dragon from the north, named Judd, was at your wedding,” Devon said. “He was the one who came to my father and offered information about your whereabouts.”

  Sarah felt like she was going to collapse then and there.

  “J-Judd?” she stuttered. “No, it couldn’t be.”

  “How well do you know him?” Devon asked. “Because he seemed to have a lot of information on you.”

  “He...” Sarah took a deep breath. “He and I were having a fling when John came along. It wasn’t anything serious... at least, I didn’t think it was anything serious. But we were flirting for years, and maybe a little bit more, and I hated John. Everything he stood for, I was against. But then he made a speech at my university and we... knew we were mates.”

  “So you left your college boyfriend for him,” Devon mused. “I’m not judging. It just makes sense. This Judd dragon seemed so vengeful.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Sarah shook her head. “I knew he was mad at me... I mean, I suppose I just stopped talking to him, but everything happened so fast... oh, Creator, I’m an idiot.” She put her head in her hands. “John is going to kill me.”

  “Wearing the crown is not always as easy as it seems,” Devon said. “Those who join us through marriage, I think, realize that in one moment. The rest of us were born with that burden.”

  “I just... I thought about things from every angle,” Sarah said. “I read all the books, I calculated... I just didn’t think about Judd. He’s the reason why I was attacked the day I got to the palace?”

  “I suspect,” Devon said. “Did you tell him you were going?”

  “Yes,” Sarah answered. “Even told him exactly where I was staying, as an olive branch. I wanted to pretend that we could still be friends... but he never replied. And then Michael died. I’m an idiot.”

  “My lady, if I may,” Devon said. “No one expects to know how to rule in one night. Most of us have no idea how to do it and we’ve been learning our whole lives.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate it, even if... ugh,” she shook her head. “Where is Judd now?”

  “I don’t know,” Devon admitted. “He seemed to mostly be dealing with my father.”

  “Then he will be my next concern.” Sarah cocked her ears. “Listen.”

  There was rustling in the forest, and Sarah realized that they had been found.

  “Alright,” she said to Devon. “This is the test of your acting skills. I want you to act scared, and...”

  “You want him to act scared?” said a mocking voice that Sarah knew all too well. She recognized Judd’s voice and ice flowed through her veins. “Why? You’re the one who should be scared.”

  “J-Judd,” she said. “Fancy seeing you here.”

  “Mm,” Judd said. “Did you forget about me?”

  “I didn’t forget about you,” she tried to assure him.

  “Really?” Judd said. “Because for three years, we were together, we were happy, and then the prince of boring sweeps in and you’re in love. And now look at you, Sarah, you’re queen. Isn’t that what you always wanted?”

  “Judd!” she cried. “We weren’t together...”

  “Weren’t we?” he asked. “What was the Saturday night drink every week, without fail? Breakfast on Tuesdays? Sneaking into your bedroom at night?”

  “It was...” she felt her voice falter.

  “All you care about,” he sneered, “is battle, is tactics, is rising high and mighty. You wanted everyone to know that you are the best. Well, here you are, my dear, you are the best. You are the queen and everyone else is beneath you!”

  “That’s not what I wanted!” she cried.

  “Too late,” Judd said and pointed a gun in her face. “This is what you get.”

  “My lady,” Devon said in a shaky voice beside her. “I’m sorry. He would have killed my father in his sleep. I had no choice.”

  “This is not your fault,” Sarah said, stepping
forward. “This is my burden to bear and I will bear it.”

  Chapter 22

  “Give up your sword, Stanley, and we will release your son.”

  “If one hair is harmed on his head...” Stanley threatened, but John glared.

  “This is the end. I will annihilate your bloodline if you do not surrender.”

  He was bluffing, of course, because he had no idea what Sarah was currently doing. All he knew was that it appeared that she had stuck to some sort of plan she had hinted at. He knew Sarah’s mind, though, and knew that she had a tendency to completely go off the rails whenever she had a better idea.

  He trusted that whatever angle she was working right now would make things better and not worse.

  Stanley looked like he wanted to explode, but he knew he was beaten. He bent down, onto one knee, and officially surrendered.

  John stood tall above him and cast his eyes out over the rest of Stanley’s troops. They all realized their king was kneeling and kneeled as well, completely defeated.

  “Well, brother,” Nathan said to John as he came to stand beside him, “it seems that we have our first victory.”

  “We can’t celebrate yet,” John responded. “We need to find Sarah and Devon.”

  “I’ve already tracked them down,” Joshua said, joining them. “There’s really only one place they could be hiding, and that’s the caves at the end of the river bend.”

  “I will go after her,” John said. “Nathan, Joshua, secure the army.”

  “Will do,” Joshua said, and snapped his fingers, indicating that some of his troops should go with John.

  John felt odd as he followed his brother’s instructions to find where Sarah had taken Devon hostage. He wasn’t quite concerned with her safety because he was reasonably certain that Devon had wanted to speak with them. The more he thought about, the more it made sense. He was relaxed as he made his ways to the caves, and even found happiness flooding him. He was Alpha, his wife was just as victorious as he was, and their battle would go down in history.