Page 22 of Dragon Blood

The undertone of her absence from her beloved archipelago had been constant since she left the protected boundaries of her realm, deepening further the longer she separated herself from her nation home.

She’d been warned. Warned not to leave her precious ward unprotected. It needed her as she needed it, their symbiotic relationship strained with this personal mission.

No, not personal. This is important. Our future depends on it.

She’dseenit.

The vision demanded attention and action.

A vision could never be ignored.

Her inner dragon had urged her forward, making it impossible to dismiss the need to fulfil this duty.

But something else had hovered at her nape. A warning, the source unknown.

She drew a deep breath, seeking stillness against the spinning in her skull while the rest of her body continued to rock with the motion of Astred’s beloved ship.

Despite the discomfort, Regina smiled.

How glorious it was to take this time with her daughter and experience a sliver of her world.

She swallowed against the sudden thickening in her throat.

A world she will have to give up, as I had to.

“Oh, Astred,” Regina sighed. Mouth unnaturally dry, her throat tightened further.

Regina struggled against gravity in search of a drink of water, her limbs uncooperative.

Something is wrong.

She fell back onto the pillow, a tornado encased in her skull, a sheen of sweat coated her skin.

Illness?

She hadn’t been ill since Draconis fever had ravaged the island in her childhood. But that had been suppressed and cured by the shamans. No one had been ill with it in centuries.

Her heart rate stuttered, suddenly slow, dragging her further down into the mattress and pillow.

Need shamans…

Lethargy smothered her thoughts as her body slackened. Her legs remained over the edge of the bed, unable to lift them. She didn’t care.

I hope… I hope Astred doesn’t catch this. Not Astred.

Regina’s dragon dimly alerted her of another presence in the room. But whatever was happening added a thick layer over all of her senses, including the energetic feelers that allowed her to read everyone around her.

Mute, immobile, blind.

Something else?

Hands lifted her legs onto the bunk, allowing her body to straighten out, placed her arms in a more natural position, then gently eased errant strands of hair from her face. Unable to resist being handled, she struggled to crack her eyes open.

A blurry visage loomed before her, a soothing voice. “Sleep, your highness. Don’t fight the tincture. Just rest.”

I know that face—that voice….

Thoughts tumbled as her body sank deeper into the bunk, dragging her into oblivion.

---