Page 114 of Crown of Betrayal and Blood

The rest of the faces run the gamut from dead serious to alarmed to incredibly peeved.

My humor dies a sudden death. “Oh shit. You weren’t kidding, were you?”

Alannah’s expression remains patient. “No, dear. If Sterling is not brought back to Tirene, you will be crowned as our kingdom’s next queen.”

I struggle to form a coherent sentence. “Queen? I’m not equipped to be queen.”

In the heat of the moment, I may have succumbed to some angry thoughts about the Bardas stealing the crown and how it belongs to me more than them. That doesn’t mean I’ve deluded myself into believing I’m actually fit to rule.

Alannah sets her quill down and levels me with her gaze. “Then I suggest you bring my son home.”

ChapterThirty-Seven

After some much needed sleep, I dress in a tunic and trousers and follow the corridors to check on Leesa. She’s already awake and dressed, sitting at a small table by the window with Bastian, sipping on tea. Relief washes over me when she greets me, because she’s not the same person as she was last night. Though shadows darken the skin beneath her eyes like purple bruises and guilt dims the usual brightness of her smile, her spine is straight and when I examine her face, I see my childhood companion reflecting back at me.

My sister has pulled herself together in typical Leesa Axton fashion, not that I expected anything less.

She’s always possessed strength of will and courage to spare. Leesa’s a survivor. She’ll get through this, especially with Bastian, Agnar, and me to lean on.

When I inform her and Bastian of my plans to travel to Aclaris, they both insist on accompanying me. Though her magic won’t be of much assistance without eyril, Leesa knows the ins and outs of Flighthaven better than I do.

While some of the royal council members are less than thrilled about our plan to rescue Sterling, I thankfully don’t have to answer to them. The queen has sanctioned our mission, and that’s all that matters.

Preparing for the journey is a whirlwind.

We spend the day discussing strategies, gathering weapons and supplies, and attempting to rest. I’m too keyed up to get much sleep, and by the time evening rolls around, I’m rearing to go.

Leesa flies on Kaida since the two are familiar with each other, and Agnar rides Tanwen. The large green dragon has a special bond with Sterling, and if we’re able to pull off the mission, Sterling will be flying back with Tanwen and Agnar.

Bastian and I choose Chirean and Dame, or more accurately, they choose us. I figured at least one of them would stay behind to guard their eggs, but they both insisted. I have no doubt they assigned more than one formidable dragon to protect their precious babies in their stead.

By the time we leave, the sun has begun its slow climb into the horizon, casting a warm glow across the landscape. The wind whistles in my ears as I cling to Dame’s back, her powerful wings beating the sky.

We cover most of the distance in silence, each of us lost in our own heads. Every so often, I cast furtive glances at Leesa. More than once, I catch Bastian and even Agnar doing the same. She seems to be okay, and I don’t sense any turmoil from Kaida. If everything goes to hells and Leesa has a meltdown, I have no doubt Bastian will keep her safe.

I hope it won’t come to that, but better to mentally prepare for the worst possibilities than get caught off guard. Surrounding myself with people I trust with my life provides more than a little reassurance. No matter what happens on this mission, at least I know I’m not alone.

As we near Flighthaven, we fly low, skimming over treetops in an attempt to avoid detection. Unfortunately, the sickly foliage often renders stealth difficult. The decay I noticed killing the greenery the last time I was at Flighthaven has spread like a swarm of grazer beetles, leaving behind a trail of rotting trunks and naked, spindly branches.

Luckily, we don’t encounter or spot a single dragon or alicorn on our way to the campus. The oddity of that fact stirs discontent in my gut, not that I’m complaining.

Although I’d love to see Zephyr again one day, I hope my old mount is off flying free and nowhere near this shit show. And while I can’t predict the exact type of shit show we’re about to walk in on, I do know one thing. The fewer people we run into, the better.

The cool morning air whips around us as our dragons lower toward the ground. We approach a dense forest that marks the eastern edge of Flighthaven. Beyond it lies our destination. We’ll leave the dragons here and venture through the woods on foot.

I turn to Agnar on my left, motioning with my hands that Dame is about to land. I don’t dare shout over the wind so he can hear me. Not when patrols could be nearby.

Agnar nods, then relays the silent message to Bastian and Leesa behind us.

Adrenaline pulses through me as Dame descends, her massive wings quiet as she glides toward the ground. As soon as she touches down, she extends her foreleg so I can climb down.

The other dragons land around us, and after everyone dismounts, we run through the plan one more time.

Find the harvested eyril stores and destroy them.

Free the dragons.

Locate Sterling and heal his corruption.

---