Dragon Bow

by Angelique Anderson

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  Tristan lumbered over Emmeline a bit, and he looked down at her with absolute fondness.

  “I’m better than I’ve ever been,” he responded, staring deep into her eyes, before taking her in his arms again. “How can I ever thank you and Svana for saving my life?”

  “No, Tristan… it’s not like that. You don’t owe us anything. I’m just so thankful you’re alive,” Emmeline responded, leaning into his chest.

  At the sight of them, Svana’s heart panged. A sense of longing filled her, along with the image of Jakobe’s face smiling into her memories. She only hoped that he would recover.

  After a moment, Emmeline stepped away from Tristan, and turned to face Svana. “It’s good to see you again, so soon.”

  “Emmeline,” Svana said, happy to see a friendly face.

  The lingering darkness Svana had felt from the advisor had finally begun to dissipate. Though, she couldn’t seem to get the encounter completely out of her head. His presence, his darkness, lingered with her, as well as left a foul taste in her mouth. But now, at least, it was manageable.

  Emmeline hugged her tightly, and the very essence of Emmeline seemed to ease all Svana’s worries.

  “Hungry?” Emmeline asked her.

  “Famished,” Svana answered.

  “Tristan, are you well enough to eat?” Emmeline’s voice was soft and full of compassion.

  “Yes, I’m feeling much better,” he reassured her, tottering slightly.

  “Why don’t you sit and rest? You need to get your strength.” Emmeline crossed back across the room to be closer to him.

  “All right, fine, you win,” he said, smiling as he did as she requested, positioning himself on the bed, and pulling the covers over him.

  “Stay here, I’ll ask my servants to get us some food,” Emmeline said, the image of her light blue gown trailing softly behind her as she exited the room.

  “Well, it seems that your brush with death has been good for the both of you.” Svana had a twinkle in her vibrant blue eyes.

  “It seems it has.” He smiled. “How I will ever admit such a thing to the king, I don’t know. Surely, he’ll have my head, but I can’t turn back now. I wasted so much time before, even though I knew she shared my affections. If something were to happen to me again, or we were to go to war, as I suspect we will, I could not do so without her knowing how I feel.”

  “If there were ever a thing to share with the King, love is truly noble indeed.” Svana’s lips upturned in a gentle smile, and she hoped that she would have the chance to share just that with Jakobe.

  If she ever saw him alive. Why had she wasted time? Why had she let the fate of the kingdoms stop her? A warrior, a fighter, a soon to be queen, should love be sacrificed for those causes? Could they not all exist as one? Didn’t love make them stronger?

  At that moment, Emmeline returned, beaming rapturously at the two of them, before she sat next to Tristan and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly in hers.

  “What if your uncle wakes up?” Tristan said, staring at her.

  “I do not care what he thinks, Tristan. I will not let his opinion separate us ever again. I have already almost lost you once. I cannot go through that again.” Emmeline’s voice was strong and determined. “He may rule the kingdom, but the man he has become will lose the kingdom if he doesn’t turn around.”

  Svana wanted to push Emmeline to share more, but at that moment, two servants came in carrying food trays, and set it on the handmade wood vanity. They served them plates of steaming eggs, and cooked pig, fresh rolls with homemade jam.

  The laughter and conversation that followed was some of the best Svana had ever experienced. A bright light had appeared on the dark horizon, in the shape of new friendships and strong allies. As Tristan shared a story about a time that he had wrestled a wild pig himself, only to be chased down by a Toverak, the doors burst open and a guard entered the room.

  “Your elegance, Lady Emmeline! Sir Tristan, Svana of the Sword… you must come at once. The King is awake!” the guard said.

  Svana’s heart stopped as she thought about what the King awakening would mean for them and the people of Telluris.

  “My uncle, he’s awake?” Emmeline’s tone could not be read.

  Was she happy or worried? Svana knew the woman had reasons to be both.

  “The king is asking for you,” the guard continued.

  “What? Me?” Svana asked, fear suddenly grabbing ahold of her.

  42

  Hekla

  Everyone has secrets, and often when you attempt to decipher a secret, their story changes, and their secret remains hidden, tucked away so you still don’t know what they’re hiding. Sometimes the only way to reach the truth is to learn it for yourself.

  Eonnueth, The Clever, Sixth Dragon Elder, Seventh Age of Verdil

  As the sea otter dove into the water, following Hadrian, Hekla knew what she needed to do.

  “My people,” she called to the Aequorans. “I am sorry, but I must take my leave at this moment. Someone requires my assistance, someone who is very important to my sister. I need to make sure he’s all right.”

  At the news, Jetevius approached her with worry clear on his face. “What are you doing?” he said in low tones, “these people need you.”

  “I know that, Jetevius, but they have you and Ecthelion. Please, care for them… continue training them, and I will be back as soon as possible,” she said, her voice heavy with worry.

  “Who is this person that is so important that you feel that you must leave us to find them?”

  Hekla looked to the ground, not sure how to explain the importance of a man like Jakobe to someone like Jetevius. Would he even understand the significance of this person to my sister? Would he even understand how important my sister is to me?

  “Jetevius, the missing person is very important to my sister, Svana. I don’t know how else to explain this to you, except for the fact that all our lives, my sisters and I only had each other. Our journey through this world, has been difficult, and lonely. When I saw how much my sister cared for this man, I knew that I would make it my mission that he recovered.”

  “Is he sick?” Jetevius asked, furrowing his brow, his sea green gills flaring.

  “No, but he was beaten to the edge of death. Now he is missing, and I must find him. If he has not recovered fully, he could still die. I would never forgive myself for allowing something like that to happen. Please forgive me, I promise to return to you as soon as I possibly can.”

  “Fine, do as you must. Do not forget your promise to us, and that you are one of us now.” His words were like a warning, but his voice spoke of something more.

  “I know, Jetevius. You are my people; your land is my land… I shall return. I will not allow you to fight the Tellurian king, or his men, alone.”

  Taking a deep breath, she ran to the water, whispering the spell that would allow her to breathe under the surface. Her primary focus was to get back to Miralee and Luna as fast as she could, and even though she knew it would bring exhaustion, she swam with all her might toward the Aequoran city that floated above the water.

  Hekla had to know what happened. Hadrian had said it wasn’t a forced entry, but it didn’t sit right with her. If it wasn’t forced, then why did Jakobe leave? Was he completely recovered already, and able to swim through the sea? Or had he stolen an Aequoran boat? She needed answers, and quickly. Nothing made sense to her in the moment.

  As her legs kicked behind her, and her arms allowed her to tread through the water, she thought about what Hadrian had said about being in hiding. It worried her that he had risked his safety to share that Jakobe had disappeared.

  The magic air bubble around her, had become like a second skin. The awkwardness of the first time, and swimming in the watery depths of Aequoris had long since faded. Sea life swam past her, and for a moment she was struck by the beauty of the sea green waters that were to be her kingdo
m—her home. Beneath her, she could see the soft shimmering lights of the underwater city, but her goal was to get to the floating realms.

  They weren’t far off and considering that she had jumped into the water shortly after Hadrian and the little otter, she wondered why she hadn’t seen either. Where had Hadrian disappeared to? She quickened her speed, reaching the city and clambered onto its mossy, damp shores.

  “Ceasum,” she called out, and the magic bubble around her body dissipated. The floating city glimmered under the blaze of the sun, its pastel colored homes never ceasing to take her breath away. She hurried to Miralee’s house, eager to find out if the woman knew anything that she could tell Hekla that would give her some insight into Jakaobe’s disappearance.

  Taking the familiar pathway that looped around, she approached the door and braced herself to knock. The light wood door opened inward before she had a chance.

  “Hekla! Have you seen my brother! He returned, he returned!” Luna jumped up and down, excited to share the news.

  “Yes, I had the pleasure of meeting him just a short while ago. Has he returned, yet?”

  “No, mother says he was to see you and then he had business to attend to in the city.”

  “Hekla, has my Hadrian been to see you?” Miralee appeared from a back room, her pale complexion in stark contrast to her reddened cheeks. Had she been crying?

  “Is everything all right?” Hekla took a step toward her, wishing she could comfort her.

  “Yes, I’m fine. I thought my Hadrian to be dead, and now he’s returned.”

  Hekla’s grip shifted on her staff, and her eyes drifted elsewhere. I can’t tell her that her son hid, in order to avoid fighting. Jakobe needs to come first… I must find Jakobe.

  “Miralee, I’m curious… Hadrian told me Jakobe has gone missing?”

  The pale woman shook her head, gills flaring, green eyes watching Hekla’s every move.

  “Hadrian said that Jakobe left of his own accord, is that true?”

  “What? No! Hadrian wasn’t even here when it happened.” Miralee frowned. “He didn’t come back until after Jakobe was gone. I woke to mens voices sometime during the night, when I found out what they were doing, I tried to stop them, but I wasn’t strong enough and they threatened Luna’s life if I kept fighting. So, I had no choice but to let them go. Jakobe tried to fight too, but he was still weak, still recovering from being near death. He was no match for them. I’m… I’m so sorry…” Miralee finished.

  “It’s not your fault. When did your son return?”

  “Sometime later, several hours after. He told me he had been hiding out, and that it wasn’t safe for him. That he did everything he could to keep himself safe so that he could return to Luna and me. The moment he told me that, I knew that he needed to find you and tell you what happened to Jakobe.”

  “Yes, only Mira… he told me that Jakobe left because he wanted to. That there was no break in, and nothing to worry about.” Hekla tapped her foot on the soft dirt of the coral home, trying to put the pieces together, but it didn’t make sense.

  “I… I don’t understand…”

  The revelation worried Miralee, Hekla could see it in her crystalline eyes, and the dramatic flaring of the woman’s gills. She left the room, and Luna hurried forward and wrapped her thin, pale arms around Hekla’s midsection.

  “I’m so glad you’re back. I don’t know what my brother is up to, but those men who took Jakobe last night, they were Aequoran soldiers and men of the king’s court. I recognized them,” Luna admitted.

  “You recognized them? How?” Hekla was perplexed.

  “From my many times in the castle,” she answered honestly.

  Hekla tilted her head as she remembered how she had met Luna. The young girl had appeared when Hekla had been in Aequoran prison. Luna had warned Hekla about the soldiers coming to kill her in her prison. She had also talked about how easy it was to get around the guards to visit Hekla in the prison. But the question that bothered Hekla was, how? How did the little girl know the guards and the castle so well that sneaking around them was so easy?

  “Speaking of which, how are you able to come and go as you please inside the castle? Care to share that little detail?”

  “Because the king is my uncle,” Luna admitted.

  “Your uncle!” Hekla yelled out in exasperation, her face twisting in confusion.

  “He is, in a manner of speaking.” Miralee appeared back into the room, her eyes downcast.

  “How so?” Hekla’s curiosity was nearly eating her alive.

  “Luna’s father and the king were brothers. He’s partly the reason why Luna’s father is dead. As I told you before.”

  “Why not tell me that detail? Why keep it from me?” Hekla felt betrayed, though she couldn’t put her finger on the reason why.

  “The king and I had been friends since childhood. Originally, I loved him first. Only Luna’s father asked me first. I never lost my feelings for King Renault, even after his wife died and he changed. Even though I know he is wrong for this kingdom, and that he cares not for its people. I keep hoping that the Renault I knew, would return,” she finished.

  “So, the king is Luna’s uncle?”

  “Yes. After his brother died, he won’t speak to me anymore, and does not accept Luna as his niece. Even so, she does as she pleases in the castle. He lets her run here and there. As long as she doesn’t call him uncle, and I don’t go in there speaking to him, he keeps the peace.”

  Hekla could see the shame that had crept into the woman’s face, though she had no idea why Miralee would feel shame. It was the king who should be shamed, treating his sister-in-law so poorly, and treating his niece so cruelly.

  “I’m sorry he refuses to take his place as her uncle, that would make her royalty, wouldn’t it?” Hekla asked.

  “Sort of, but no one knows,” Luna replied, an impish twinkle in her cerulean eyes. “Well, we don’t think anyone knows, but I suspect that isn’t entirely true. The king sends us things from time to time. I suppose to keep me silent, and he always has the same two guards deliver these things. Most of the time it’s food. Sometimes it’s little trinkets. I don’t even know why I accept them. He knows that we live in poverty, and that no one provides for us. My fields of herbs and seaweed barely keep us afloat. I had thought that would change with Hadrian returning, but I sent him to you and now he’s still not back.” The woman started to sob softly, and Hekla knew she was close to hysterics.

  “Miralee, we will get this all sorted, I promise you I’m sure that Hadrian is fine, he probably just got distracted and will be here shortly. As for Jakobe, I need to get to him. If they took him underwater, how will he breathe? I have my magic…. But Jakobe…”

  “Oh, we have special underwater transportation chambers for land-walkers. Small orbs similar to what your magic does for you, only these don’t form to the body. They are small and round and can be locked from the outside in case the person being transported is a prisoner.”

  “Miralee, was Jakobe transported in one of these things?”

  Miralee shrugged her shoulders, looking past Hekla and avoiding her eyes, clearly overcome by the situation.

  “Yes, they dragged him outside, and locked him in one before they left for the sea,” Luna piped up.

  “Thank you, Luna. I appreciate you. Then—” Hekla sighed. “I must go find him. Be well, and tell Hadrian if he returns, that I have some questions for him.”

  Miralee looked horrified but nodded her head in agreement. “I will.”

  43

  Astrid

  There will be times when we all must take orders. And there will come a time when we must decide whether to obey those orders, or to ignore them. You must decide if it is more important to protect the lives of the innocent or be considered a traitor to your nation.

  Reidlesiul, The Bravest, Seventh Dragon Elder, Eighth Age of Verdil

  As Astrid, Cayden, and the guards reached ground level and began their
journey down the mountain, Astrid felt Cayden’s grip on her arm, pulling her to the side.

  “Continue on, soldiers, I will be right behind you,” Astrid urged them.

  Those who acknowledged her merely grunted or nodded in response. She waved them onward before turning her attention to her companion.

  “What is it, Cayden?” she asked him the moment they were out of earshot.

  “Astrid, I care about you, and I’ve talked with you enough to know that you value life. Are you certain that you are all right to march on Telluris, right now?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know.” Astrid tried to fight the pull of his dark hooded eyes, but she was drawn to them.

  She turned her back on him, staring back up at the mountain, wishing she could return to simpler times. Wishing that somehow she and her sisters were back home in the Volcano of Shadows, and the only battle they worried about was the practice fights with one another.

  “I know you do not wish to see any other lives lost.” Cayden’s voice quieted, and she could hear the gentle tapping of his foot in the dirt.

  “What do you want me to say? I don’t know what to do. I must be loyal to my king… I have duties to fulfill. I have an obligation to my people, but not to just my people… to my sister’s people as well.” Astrid paused for a long moment trying to sort through the thoughts that overcame her mind. If she marched on Telluris, she ran the risk of injuring Svana, not by her own hands, but by the hands of the Caelestan soldiers.

  If she didn’t march, she ran the risk of being called a traitor by the very soldiers who vowed to serve her, and who knew what would happen if they thought her to betray the king.

  “You don’t have to say anything; I can’t imagine how difficult this must all be for you. I ask you, Astrid… consider everything. It is better to be a traitor of the king you serve, than to be a murderer of the innocent. Take it from someone who knows.”