Page 141 of Between Despair and Hope

It was with that newfound confidence I wore on my frame, we arrived in Northport. Nixy had rifted us, and we’d somehow corralled Hyše through it. The dragon was on the smaller side but fierce despite her size. Mairin had been the one to convince her to take those tentative steps through the opening, using a dead pheasant as a lure. Body lowered to the ground, the dragon prowled through like a cat before shaking herself, great wings spreading out from her body.

She’d been made from the memory of Emma killing Keeva, and it gave her an intimidating look. Inky black scales and wings were contrasted by orange eyes, probably drawn from the light of a torch. Mairin threw her head back and laughed when people started shrieking on the streets of Northport. Her smile was contagious, wide and bright. I stifled my affection.

“Oh, we should have thought about that,” said Nixy.

“There’s theNetari.” I pointed to the ship anchored in the bay. “You two rift over, and I’ll fly?”

I scrambled atop Hyše within a moment. I hadn’t been able to ride a dragon yet. Emma had commissioned special saddles for them, and I was excited, if a little scared.

“You have any idea what you’re doing?” the merrow called out to me.

“Not at all.”

I heard her laugh alongside Nixy’s rift, and I tried to squeeze my legs together and lean forward like I would with a horse. The dragon didn’t move, probably didn’t even notice me squeezing its sides. I remembered Emma’s instruction to just speak to them, and though dubious, I attempted it.

“Up?”

With my tentative command, Hyše launched into the sky on a powerful thrust of her legs and a flap of her wings. I shrieked, unable to contain my surprise. Gripping onto the pommel, farther forward than on a horse’s saddle, I let loose a yell as a smile lit up my face. I knew Brenna was aboard that ship, and the coming days would not be pleasant for me. This felt like one last moment of freedom.

Swooping in a circle over the ship, the dragon found a place to delicately land, claws made to tear and rip touching down softly.

“If you want to fly over us, you can,” I told the dragon after sliding down from the saddle. She took off a moment later, and a group of soldiers and sailors, all shocked into silence, met me with curious stares.

“Your Highness,” a gruff voice said from behind me, and I turned to face Beau, the captain of theNetari. It had been quite some time since I’d seen him. What little hair was left on his head was still blond, but his long beard had gone white.

“Beau!” I shouted, crossing the few steps to meet him and pulling him into a hug. We clapped each other on the back before separating. His grin was missing a few more teeth than the last time I’d seen it.

“How’s Melina?”

“Still mean as a snake and pretty as a peach. And Dewalt?”

I swallowed, not sure why the question set me back. Dewalt was still my friend, after all, and it was only expected for him to ask. Still, I cleared my throat.

“He’s—”

“Ah fuck. I’m sorry. I forgot. Brenna told me about the bond.”

Oh, hell.

“We’re still friends, Beau. It’s not some sort of heartbreak,” I said, even though it felt similar. Not a romantic hurt, but a deep one all the same. “He’s got his hands full training Rainier’s daughter.”

“I couldn’t wait to ask you about that.” He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to the captain’s quarters. “There still hasn’t been any formal proclamation, but it’s true, then? The king has a daughter? Nearly grown?”

“It’s true.” I nodded. “She’s almost sixteen.”

He shook his head and swiped a hand over his brow as he fell into his chair and kicked his boots onto his desk. I sat across from him. “He kept it a secret all these years?”

“No, not quite.”

“No.” He gasped. “Shedid?”

“She didn’t know.”

He steepled his fingers on his stomach as he lifted a brow. “But she knows now? That makes little sense.”

“The ‘she’ you speak of is your queen, my sister, and my friend. You’d do best if you mind that, Beau.”

“Lavenia, you know I mean nothing by it. I’m not the only one confused. That’s all it is—confusion.”

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