Page 15 of Crown of Betrayal and Blood

I whisper a prayer to Pera, goddess of families, along with any other god who might be listening. “Grant us the strength to endure, to overcome. Let this be their sanctuary.”

I peer into the depths, where life, patient and unseen, awaits. A fierce emotion blooms behind my ribs.

No matter what, these eggs must be protected from any and all threats. And while not much exists that can threaten mature dragons, the alarm that spread through the flock when they sensed the drachen suggests that the shadowy monsters can.

Yet another reason to do everything in our power to destroy that nightmare fodder.

Once and for all.

ChapterSix

Though the sun has set by the time I return to the palace, rows of ever-lights brighten the exterior walkways enough for me to find my way to the palace doors.

While the nobility might act as if we have nothing to fear during the daytime, the guards and staff still ensure that the night’s darkness does not intrude on the safe places. Of course, the staff and guards were the ones left to clean up the blood and gore from that night while the nobles fled to safety. They, more than anyone, have reason to remember and fear the drachen.

I move through the hallways toward the Royal Archives, the rolled map still tucked into my dress. My steps echo off the high-vaulted ceilings and wide walkways as the torn soles of my slippers flap.

The doors to the archives stand open. In the wake of Jasper’s death, the library is no longer seen as a place to avoid. Still, habit remains and few bother to wander there.

“Leesa?” I keep my voice low, wary of disturbing the silence that clings to the rows upon rows of ancient tomes and scrolls. “Bastian?”

A muffled curse answers me, followed by the shuffling of papers. Tracing the sounds, I find my sister and Bastian huddled over a cluttered table. The frustration carved into their faces is as deep as the lines of text they pore over.

“Anything?” The hopelessness in their eyes tells me all I need to know.

“Nothing.” Bastian runs a hand through his dark brown hair. “We’ve scoured every legend, every whisper of a tale, every cross-reference in every book we could find that might even come close. The drachen remain a mystery. No land at any time has written of their existence. Outside of the one chronicle you found, that is.”

Leesa straightens, her olive complexion pale from stress. “Every lead’s a dead end, Lark. I’m so sorry.”

She drops her head in her hands, rubbing her temples.

My throat tightens, because this is what I was afraid of. In addition to their theft of the throne, the Barda family erased every reference to the drachen from the books.

The greed and pride of a select few might yet kill us all.

With so much at stake, we can’t afford to wallow in disappointment.

“Come with me then.” I gesture toward the door. “We need to speak with Sterling.”

“Okay.” Leesa stands and starts to reach for me. “What happened to your dress?”

Flipping my tattered skirt to hide the scratches from Dame’s scales, I step away. “I’ll explain once we’re with Sterling. Come on. The sun has set, so the ceremony is over for the day.” I motion for them to follow me and head for the door.

After a bit of quiet discussion, they both do as I ask, trailing behind me.

Halfway to the throne room, they catch up with me. I’m nearly out of breath, struggling with my shredded skirt and destroyed slippers.

“Okay, seriously, what is going on with your clothing?” Leesa hisses in my ear. “You have even more cuts in the back of your skirt. Did you get into a fight or something?”

“What are you not telling us?” Bastian surprises me by draping his thin coat around my shoulders. Even with Tirene’s temperate climate, the summer evenings can get a little chilly here. “Are you in danger?”

Guilt sears through me when I realize how this must seem. “No, nothing like that.” I gesture downward. “I didn’t have time to change into my riding gear. Dame was too insistent because she had something wonderful to show me.”

“Oh, so it’s good news?” Leesa perks up, her brown eyes twinkling. “I could really use some good news after several days of failing to get anywhere with our research.”

“It is, but that happened after…” Now doesn’t seem to be the right time to tell them about my abduction, so I just shake my head again. “I’ll tell you all about my day once we find Sterling. That way, I don’t have to recount everything twice.”

As we near the throne room, I slow my pace, attempting to quiet our approach as I cross through the doorway and into the grand throne room. Stretching as tall as possible, I scan the heads of the assemblage.

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