Page 24 of Dragon Blood

She’d never seen her mother sick, and the sight of Regina’s unconscious form sent tremors through Astred.

Her mother, her queen, was the solid foundation of their nation. She could not be seen as weak or fallible.

A measure of relief eased Astred’s mind as they passed through the magic barrier, shielding the boundary from the human world into Aeleftherian territory, deep in the Bermuda Triangle.

Aeleftherian guardian patrols approached the newcomers, swooping in fast and close, quickly banking and falling into formation, broadening their escort to the citadel.

After hours in the sky, her muscles burned, and her mind ached with the constant reel of suspicious possibilities. She pushed on as everyone else did. No one flagged or faltered.

The queen was ill, and it was imperative to see her immediately placed in the care of the draconic shamans.

Soon, the tail end of the Aeleftherian archipelago came into view amid white-capped waters. The land itself resembled a dragon in flight, as did the constellations when the sky darkened.

Home.

Kolina roared the tonal signal, alerting the shamans, drawing them to the infirmary platform. The guardians broke off, resuming their patrol.

The five dragons circled the tower platform in formation before Kolina led Kai downward, followed by Astred. Shamans assembled on the platform, surging forward to collect the incoming patient from the boat the moment Kai laid it on the stone surface.

Marli and Zayli were the last to land.

Shifting into human form, Kolina followed, accepting a proffered robe, turning to Kai as he collected his bag from the boat, pointing to a chamber to the left of the infirmary entrance. “There is a change room through there.”

“Escort Mr. Sun to the guest wing.” Astred ordered the attendants as she pulled a robe on, heart pounding, pausing to speak to Kai. “Someone will come for you later. And… thank you.”

He nodded, features drawn as his gaze swept her face. “Anything I can do, just say the word.”

The tension in her chest eased a fraction as she held his gaze, wanting to find comfort in his arms for just five seconds before facing the enormity of the situation.

She nodded, turning away to follow the contingent of shamans into the infirmary. The queen’s own council-appointed team were summoned from the citadel. The infirmary shamans continued their work to secure the queen’s comfort and establish what they could through preliminary triage.

Astred crossed her arms over her chest, observing the shamans murmuring to one another, touching their sovereign with the greatest care, yet with thorough efficiency. The lead shaman questioned Astred as she worked, while a clerk shadowed, recording everything.

Kolina stood next to her, reporting time and observations of when she parted with Regina. Astred filled in the rest. The queen’s guards had each checked in to see her asleep, as she was when Astred went to see her at Zayli’s summons. “She didn’t respond, no matter how I tried to wake her, and her breathing is so shallow, though steady.”

“Her Majesty appears to be in stasis—a subtle difference from unconsciousness.” She pulled several rune-inscribed crystals from her pocket. Astred recognized the stones as common energy monitors, similar to the ones she kept with her ship’s medical equipment.

These particular ones gauged a dragon’s energy, separate from the human form’s physiology.

Regina’s dragon energy was dim.

“I suspect that whatever the cause of the unconscious state, her Majesty’s dragon is creating a barrier of her own.” The head infirmary shaman straightened from her bent position. She used her personal senses to detect anomalies emanating from the queen before she reached for several swabs. “May I?”

Astred nodded, standing aside as the medic gently swabbed Regina’s inner lips, nostrils and various other points of her body, tucking the cotton-tipped tools into special containers. The clerk continued recording data from the team, imparting instructions regarding the samples.

“Is this a result of her absence from the island?” Astred leaned closer, voice low, while the clerk was too distracted to record their exchange.

The head shaman’s gaze darted to Astred’s concerned face, thoughts ticking before she glanced at the clerk, then the door.

Even though the queen’s personal shamans were coming, Astred wasn’t waiting to ask them.

“To my limited knowledge of the historic annals,” the head shaman jerked her head in the negative, her lips briefly tightened. “The strain on her bond with Aeleftheria would be significant and she would certainly feel it. Though causing her to lose consciousness after so short a time is highly questionable. Perhaps her personal shamans could impart a more thorough explanation.”

Astred turned her gaze to her mother’s prostrate form, atop the gurney, awaiting the arrival of her politically appointed medical team.

‘I don’t think so,’Astred’s dragon responded from within. ‘They are covetous of what they have and will not risk their political positions for anything.’

She drew a deep breath in defiance of her mother’s shallow draws.

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