Page 28 of The Flame King's Queen

The whetstone drops from my hand. I shoot to my feet, and I’m running across the courtyard before I realize that I’m not setting a good example for my soldiers by abandoning my duty to gratify my own heart. The raucous whistling behind me tells me that the soldiers don’t begrudge me for my need to hold their future queen.

I’m there to catch Isavelle in my arms as she comes running across the dragon bridge. The sweet scent of her and our baby bursts around me, and I press a dozen hungry kisses to her lips and face.

“How wonderful it is to kiss you again, and you are warm and solid this time.”

Isavelle pulls back and smiles at me, exclaiming with pleasure, “You felt me?”

“I did, my clever little witch. How did you do that?”

“Mistress Hawthorne taught me. All it takes is a saucer of ink and water, but I don’t think I will do it often because it’s intrusive and bad manners.”

“You may visit me through your saucer and ink whenever we are parted. It’s never bad manners to kiss your mate.”

Isavelle smiles and snuggles into my arms, her fingers tangling in the hair at the nape of my neck. I lift her in my arms and carry her toward the castle.

“What shall we do now?” she asks, smiling up at me.

“We shall go to bed.”

Isavelle laughs. “How did I know you were going to say that?”

“It’s only good sense,sha’lenla,” I say innocently, and then more seriously, “remember, it’s the half-moon tonight. There won’t be time to rest until after the battle, so we must do it now.”

Isavelle and I spend the rest of the day in our bed, sometimes napping, sometimes not. Toward dusk, we eat a meal while still in bed, delaying the moment we must leave it for as long as possible.

“We will be flying at night,” Isavelle says, taking a thoughtful sip from her cup as she muses on the mission ahead of us. “It makes me think of the second time I ever saw you. I was being taken south by the Brethren to meet the Shadow King, and you and the other dragons attacked them. I didn’t know the names of the others at the time, but I studied their faces and dragons. Stesha was there, and so was Sundra. I was surprised to see a woman in battle gear, though it was low on the list of the most surprising things I saw that night. Dragonfire poured down from the night’s sky, and you knelt in the dust before me and touched my bruised cheek as though it really mattered to you that I was hurt. You, a stranger with so much love in your red eyes.”

“You must have been terrified,sha’lenla.”

“I think I was too in awe of you to feel afraid. I knew that the last place I wanted to be was with the Brethren being taken to the Shadow King.” She smiles mischievously. “But not so in awe that I didn’t remember to present you with my cheek when you tried to kiss me.”

I groan in agony remembering that thwarted kiss. “Looking and smelling as you did and not being allowed to kiss you, I just about died on the spot.”

“Thank the stars my mate is the strongest man in all of Maledin and managed to survive,” she teases, and leans forward to press a kiss to my lips. Her fingers find the knot of scar tissue on my side. “Come back to me in one piece this time. I won’t be able to bear it if I lose you.”

A few hours later, Isavelle and I are both prepared for battle. She’s wearing flexible leather armor, tooled with gold that shimmers in the moonlight along with her hair and gold-flecked eyes, and a tan-colored cloak. I have donned my black plate amour, and the night wind whips at my black and crimson cloak.

At the far side of the bridge to the dragongrounds, we share a final kiss and part ways. Her gloved fingers trail through my gauntleted ones as we move apart, our eyes filled with longing and wishes for the other’s safety. I must ride at the head of the flare, and she at the back.

I find Scourge and press my forehead against his flank, communicating with him silently, feelings of determination passing back and forth between us. We must be leaders tonight, now more than ever.

The skies are clear, and at midnight, the half-moon is visible in the west. Flaming torches light the dragongrounds as the dragon army assembles. Most of the dragons and many of the wyverns are carrying a foot soldier or two to the southern barrier. Temple Maidens are moving among the men and women carrying platters with cups of strong tea. I drink a cup down, pass it back to one of the maids with a nod of thanks, and then climb atop Scourge.

Isavelle and Esmeral are with the Temple Mothers who are riding wyverns, and they will provide support to any wounded soldiers during the battle. I catch my mate’s eye across the sea of shining armor and dragon wings. Isavelle looks pale and nervous in the firelight, but she manages a smile for me.

There are two figures astride Nilak, one tall and broad with long, white hair, the other small and slight with a plait of dark hair. Zenevieve sits between Stesha’s thighs, sideways on the saddle with her ankles crossed together. She’s gazing up at him as they talk and she plays with the end of her plait. They’re actually speaking to each other. It has been a long time since I have seen that, or the sight of them riding together on Nilak. I can’t tell what Stesha is thinking from his expression. His hands are resting on his thighs, and he’s engrossed by whatever his former ward is saying. A battle can bring two people together. A mission such as the one they share, to bring Shar home, even more so, as friends, family, or lovers. I’ve never been sure what those two are to one another.

My dragons are prepared. When I receive the nod from Sundra and Ashton that the soldiers and wingrunners are ready, I shout loud enough for all to hear me.

“Dragon army, on me.” Scourge spreads his mighty wings, and with a defiant roar, he launches into the sky. I hear the flare’s answering roars and the thunder of wings behind us.

We fly south through the night to battle. To victory. To Emmeric’s death, which tonight must be final after all these centuries.

An hour before dawn, the dragon army is assembled in formation at the southern barrier, a towering, flickering edifice of magic. We are ready to attack Emmeric’s castle and end the war in Maledin. Only the barrier still stands, and there’s no sign of Auryn in the skies.

As the sky lightens with the sun that’s about to rise, I can feel my anger mounting. Despite Kane’s aggression toward my flare, my home, and the two precious Omegas in the kingdom, I have been more than fair and open-minded about his presence.

A sliver of sunshine breaks over the horizon. Dawn is upon us, and we stand uselessly at the barrier.

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