Page 120 of Kingdom of Dance

A half-hearted cheer rose up from the crowd, many of whom still looked utterly dazed by the dramatic showdown.

“Given unforeseen events, the wedding feast will be postponed,” King Bern added.

At this cue, the steward cleared his throat. Under his direction, and that of the army of servants who appeared on his signal, guests began to file out of the room.

“I want to stay and see what happens when the dragons come back,” Zinnia heard one man mutter to his companion.

“I don’t,” the other man said fervently. “Did you see how angry that dragon who stayed outside was? If things don’t go his way, he’ll fry everyone in sight.”

His words sent a shiver down Zinnia’s spine. She turned away as, politely but relentlessly, the guards assisted the servants in chivvying the guests from the room. None of the visiting royals gave any sign of leaving, and no one tried to encourage them toward the doorway.

When at last the room had cleared, guards shut and bolted all the interior doors, standing at attention with their eyes fixed expectantly on their king.

“I imagine you all wish to witness whatever is about to unfold,” King Bern told the gathered royals.

In addition to his own family and the Entolian delegation, he spoke to King Justin and Queen Felicity of Albury—whose infant son had miraculously managed to sleep through the entire fiasco in his mother’s arms—Princess Azalea and Prince Bentleigh of Listernia, Prince Rian and Princess Penny of Bansford, and Princes Averett and Ari of Mistra, the two of Wren’s brothers who had attended the wedding. Since they were all flanked by their various guards, there was still quite a crowd in the room.

A few others had also remained, including Obsidian’s mother, and the elderly Fernedellian enchanter who had defended his prince and new princess. He had been busy with the guards, casting what seemed to be a multi-layered web of restraining enchantments on Lorne, who had woken and now sat bound and gagged in a ring of watchful guards. The fugitive’s eyes were murderous as they rested on Obsidian, and Zinnia had to restrain herself from striding over and giving him a swift kick while he was prone.

Instead, she stepped forward, clearing her throat and trying to sound confident. “Your Majesty,” she said to King Bern, who had just finished thanking Princess Penny for her part in protecting his son and daughter-in-law, “may I speak?”

He gave a gesture of consent, and Zinnia’s eyes passed over the distinguished gathering.

“It’s right that you all hear whatever’s coming. I’ve been in the dragon elder Idric’s grip for many months now, and I’ve discovered a great many things. In simple summary, he has been the unexplained extra force behind all of the curses that have affected the royals of Solstice.”

Her eyes lingered on King Justin. “Was it not the case that the enchantress who cursed you couldn’t explain what gave her enchantment such unexpectedly fierce power?”

The king frowned in thought, which Zinnia took to be the closest to agreement she would get. Her gaze went on to Princess Azalea.

“And what about the enchanter who cursed you and your kingdom, Princess Azalea?”

The princess’s husband shifted beside her, his face looking considerably more strained than it had the night before.

“No one could ever satisfactorily explain why Montgomery’s magic so far exceeded that of his siblings,” he acknowledged.

Zinnia nodded, ready to move on, but Princess Azalea spoke up.

“He even spoke of something like this to me. He said that I had seen what was coming, and I could do nothing to save my kingdom. I think he was referring to the terrible visions I saw when I was under his curse. Visions of being trapped in a sea of thorns while dragons circled overhead and my kingdom burned to the ground.”

A ripple went around the gathered royals at her words, many exchanging tense glances with one another.

After a moment of charged silence, Zinnia turned to the Bansfordians. “I don’t know if you’ve suffered a curse quite like those in Albury and Listernia, but—”

“Not quite,” Princess Penny interjected. “But there were some unexplained aspects to the attack by the so-called bandits. We all wondered at the time how they reached the capital so quickly, and the thought crossed my mind…” She bit her lip. “Well, I know from my own experience that dragons can travel at a speed that seems impossible until you witness it yourself. And they can carry humans at that speed without any great effort.”

Prince Rian cleared his throat. “Penny is right. And there’s another thing which never quite added up.” He winced slightly. “It pains me to say it…I believe he would now regret it…but I was convinced at the time that the so-called anonymous tips my father received about the location of enchanters still hiding in our kingdom must have come from a magical source.” He glanced at his wife. “I know that the dragon Dannsair visited Penny in dreams, and my father always seemed to have fresh information first thing in the morning. It occurs to me to wonder if this Idric may have had a hand in perpetuating the conflict and division in our kingdom regarding the ban on magic.”

“Does that mean,” cut in Prince Averett of Mistra curtly, “that it was this dragon who gifted an obscene amount of power to the madwoman who tried to kill us all?” He gave a grim chuckle. “He must have been irritated when she accidentally turned us into swans instead.”

“He was likely the one who sent the magic that destroyed the high security wing of the prison, as well,” Amell added. “He actually had the audacity to attend, remember, Father? He and the other elder, Tanin, both came to inspect the damage. And Furn and I saw him flying overhead on another occasion.”

“We’ll never be able to prove it,” Princess Aurelia said softly, “but he most likely gave Cyfrin extra power, too. The strength and complexity of his enchantments never seemed to match the low regard the guild had for his abilities.”

“I doubt he was behindouranonymous tips, however,” King Bern said dryly. “Given they helped us round up violent criminals.”

“No, that was Rekavidur, the yellow dragon,” Amell said. “He all but told me so at the christening in Albury recently. He and Dannsair also gave me the magic I needed to find Aurelia.”

“Helped you as well, did they?” Prince Bentleigh said thoughtfully. “Rekavidur also gave me magical assistance—secretly, of course.” He glanced at the Alburians. “And I know he helped Felicity, because she’s the one who told me I should ask him.”

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