Page 28 of Dragon Blood

One that Astred had never seen before, and despite her resistance as a child, she’d been expected to review the entire Aeleftherian archival treasury. This book was not among them.

She’d had to swallow her growls of frustration, her pulse escalating with their lack of transparency as her mother lay inert in their care.

Aboard the Crimson Claw, no one ever hid anything from her. It was her realm.

This was not.

Not yet.

And with the Goddess’ blessing, not for a long, long while.

She rolled her shoulders against the effort required to remain mute, observe and wait them out. Eventually, they would forget she was there or let down their guard when they saw that she wasn’t interfering.

On silent feet, she crossed the room and settled into a well-worn, over-stuffed reading chair surrounded by her mother’s personal reading nook. Next to the armrest, a book lay on a small table with a marker embedded a third of the way from the top. A couple locked in a passionate embrace adorned the cover.

Astred smiled.

It was from the last box of books she’d imported from the continent.

The Council frowned on such things, so she smuggled them in and let the island’s black market take care of the rest. And somehow this human fiction book managed to end up in the queen’s bedchamber.

Yes, things needed to change. They couldn’t stop the world outside Aeleftheria from revolving, nor could they stop Astred from bringing some of it to them. After all, their survival depended on Aeleftherians leaving the island now and then to find mates to produce young. Otherwise, they’d die out.

Every Aeleftherian capable of childbearing was expected to do so at some point.

Astred had so far avoided that duty.

Kymri had resisted for as long as she could, until her unique physiology that of a Steelscale metal dragon, could not resist the heat that ignited, deciding it was time to mate.

Astred had great sympathy for her friend, even though that one trigger had changed everything for Aeleftheria, causing break-neck ripple effects throughout the rest of the realm.

Thoughts of Kymri inevitably brought Kai back to Astred’s mind.

Blistering memories of their precious time together rolled through her. Closing her eyes, she inhaled, long and slow.

She opened her eyes to the romance book still clutched in her hands.

If only things had been different…

Astred set the book aside with a sigh.

In the corner, the shaman stifled a yawn, settling on a stool to observe the queen while she remained in stasis.

Not the lead royal shaman. A subordinate, whose eyes drooped and whose chin inched closer to her chest.

Astred waited until the shaman’s light snores drifted across the room before rising to peek at the ancient tome. It appeared to be an anatomy manual, specific to the royal line, complete with illustrations, diagrams and fact charts for each individual.

She thumbed through until she landed on a page of notes relating to herself.

There were few entries from her adult years forward. She scowled at one particular line ‘Shows little evidence of visionary connection.’

Stifling a snort, she closed the book, careful not to wake the attendant.

On tiptoe, she approached her mother’s bed.

The superiors had insisted she keep her distance and reiterated their previous reasons, adding a few more.

Now, nearly alone with her mother, hours after their last failed test, she gently lifted Regina’s fingers, sliding her palm against hers as she sat on the edge of her mattress.

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