Page 57 of The Dragon Queen

I just know, she replied, heading towards the stairs.

Is this because you are a dragon seer? Do you see what you must do and then do it?

I felt a note of hope at that, ignoring the almost inaudible sigh from the dragonriders as they followed us into the keep. Perhaps Glimmer could foresee my path out of this madness.

Nothing is that clear. I see… the past, present, and future but only in glimpses.She turned midway down the steps to stare back at me.In some ways, my visions are more of a distraction than anything. If they are useful, many times I can’t see it. My instincts tell me what to do.Her eyes flicked over me, as if searching for something.Yours will do the same, if you learn to listen to them.

Search for the answers within? I barely suppressed a huff of frustration at that pat phrase, because I knew what my instincts told me. Collect my dragon and my men too, the lot of us riding off into the sunset and towards my family estate. Deepacre was far away from war, court, the keep, everything, and we would be safe there. That’s what I wanted, but instead, I raced down the stairs, brushing past Glimmer until she took wing and flew down beside me.

If your instincts tell you what to do, then why did you need to consult with Cynane?I asked.Surely when your time comes to mate and bear young, those instincts will inform you what needs to be done.

I could hear her amusement inside my head.

I’m sure they will, but sometimes one needs to converse with another, discuss their experiences and learn from them. Even if Cynane had no useful advice to pass on, the sharing…Glimmer landed in front of me.That is always worthwhile.

“Where to, Highness?” my guard asked me. “To your chambers? We can have a meal sent up and?—”

“To the hatching sands,” I replied in a far more definite tonethan I would’ve been capable of moments before. “Men meet to discuss war, well, queens… they need to consult with each other as well.”

My guards seemedto sense that coming onto the hatching ground’s sands would be a mistake. The shift of Cynane’s dragon mates made that clear. They emerged from the shadows like snakes, with all of that deadly intent, but paused when Glimmer and I stepped forward. Muzzles dropped low, eyes closed, and if I wasn’t mistaken, this was a mark of respect. Glimmer treated it as so, marching forward, her head held high. I took her lead, doing the same, even as those very instincts Glimmer talked about went into riot, alerting me to the fact I was in very real danger. I focussed on the burning sands, the heat stifled by the soles of my boots. I focussed on the smell, the close scent of snakes nesting, and then as we got closer, I focussed on her.

The hatching sands got some natural light from a hole in the cavern roof and what spilled into the space seemed to be absorbed by her. Hadrian shifted beside his mate, lifting his head to take us in, but when he saw that the riders didn’t join us, he settled back down, nestling his head into Cynane’s, which had her eyes flicking open.

She was dying, that was my first hysterical thought. The proud, scarred queen of before was somehow smaller, darker, dulled. Her claws were slowly thrust forward and her head rose, but even I saw the strain.

Pippin and Glimmer. Back so quickly, young queen?

Her voice was melodious as it filled my head, and it was then I heard a note I hadn’t before. Some of the exhaustion, tenderness, and amusement my own mother’s voice had contained, right up until the point she died.

Cynane…!Stepping forward and sketching a curtsey, that was instinctive rather than what I forced my body to do when Draven and I were attending court events.Forgive me for not coming to see you earlier, my queen. I…My mind searched for a solution to the problem I now saw.Can I bring you food or water?Hadrian snorted at that,making clear he had already made sure his queen had everything she needed.Perhaps… a doctor?

That was incredibly rude, but I couldn’t help but take in her sunken flanks, the now dull-bronze scales laying almost loosely over her frame.

So I look as bad as all that?she replied and then settled her head back on her massive claws. Her eyes remained open, still bright despite her condition.No, I fear no physician, human or dragon, can help me with this. I was alive when human queens and dragon queens ruled Nevermere. I saw the first of your kind come to this island when I was little more than a hatchling. I have seen peace, treachery, felt happiness and sorrow, and now… I am old and I come to the end of my life.

My heart…

My eyes burned as I stared at Hadrian, watching his head nuzzle hers, a caress she couldn’t do much more than tolerate, though I knew love when I saw it.

I have served my country all my life and I do so with my last breath. She shifted then, revealing a swollen belly.I will not live to see my children grow, so I must entrust their care to you and the young seer.

You already have my promise,Glimmer told her, then she turned to me expectantly.

Of course. Whatever you need, I replied, aware I was stumbling into the same trap as before.

Draven had cursed us for creating alliances with political entities without considering the implications, but if he wanted a queen who was well versed in the ways of court, he should’ve married Beatrice. I was raised to live in the country, lady of cows and fields of wheat, not queen of all Nevermere.

You will know, when the time comes,Cynane said, letting out a gusty sigh. Breeze created little whirls of sand, spiralling off before dissipating.But you did not come to discuss my state. Ask your question, young dragon queen.

I swallowed, wanting to pretend that she meant Glimmer, but that was the thing about dragons. They saw straight into your heart. Knowing that made me bold.

What do I do, great queen? A broken dragon egg was delivered today.Cynane’s mates shifted restlessly, a low rattling sound making clear their discontent.Our enemies have made clear that if we make a move against them, they will kill each dragonling in the shell. Yet if we do not, they will employ the same methods used to enslave Zafira on the next young queen dragon. And I…?

I thought of the tannery and that little moment of feeling useful. Not very useful, my cutting skills still awful, but at least I was doing something. Struggling towards the creation of just one gimbal, one useful device riders would then use to loose explosives that would destroy everything in their path. My hands rose and fell.

I’m supposed to be queen and I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do.

Service…That thought was like a sigh, faint enough to make me wonder if I heard the dragon queen or my own heart.Service is always misunderstood.

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