Page 88 of Between Fear and Favor

“And so you acted upon their concerns without letting them be voiced to me first?” I demanded of my father’s general. Tall and lean and quiet, Ashmont had known me since birth. And he’d despised me since the moment I preferred Raj to train me.

“The fire breather roasted a horse this afternoon, within the city walls. What if it was a person? A child? The council decided action needed to be taken—with or without your input.”

“And no one thought to wake us?”

He had no answer. With hands behind his back, Ashmont dipped his head, the picture of deference. Despite the twitch of my eye and the anger boiling in my gut, I reminded myself he was merely serving as a messenger.

Em was a different story. Behind me, her simmering wrath was palpable. But she stayed quiet, and I gently caressed the golden bond between us, hoping to soothe her. It had the opposite effect.

“Where was this resolve when your king was captive in Folterra? Why didn’t action need to be taken then?” she snapped. As she stepped forward, Irses moved, bringing his dangerous maw beside her as if to protect her.

I feared it wasn’t my dear heart who needed protecting.

“I was simply obeying the former queen,” Ashmont responded, dark brows meeting as he stared at the ground. “Though I wish I would have done more then. Perhaps that is why I act now. Before it is too late.”

Before Em could respond, her outrage untouched by his explanation, I crossed my arms. “Bring the council to me.”

“Here?”

“Here.”

Lord Durand had seemedworried when we’d last spoke, but I was sure he didn’t know about the impending action against our dragons. He would have told me. But he’d clearly had his concerns. Perhaps he had hoped to change their minds at our meeting. He’d been an advantageous ally to Em during my weeks in Declan’s dungeon, but he still had to speak for the majority of the council.

I grimaced, thinking about how my father would have avoided this. Soren would have appointed a new council the moment he became king, men who did as he wanted without question. I hadn’t had the time to do as such—and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

But I was angry they’d moved on this without granting me and Em the courtesy of a meeting. Ifash had forced things to move faster than necessary thanks to his hunger. The dragon in question hadn’t even returned to the Hollow, still roaming the countryside. Lux had last been seen flying south, and I thought it might have been a blessing that the biggest, most dangerous dragon wasn’t present for this conversation.

“They’ve been stuck beneath this palace for weeks, and Irses and Lux are the only reason the city stands,” Em said, brushing her hair behind her shoulders. She hadn’t had time to brush it, and putting her sex-mussed hair on display like that made me wish I could drag her off into some hidden alcove. Yet we were here, handling what the council had decided without proper authority.

“And while the council remains grateful for all that was done, and all that wassacrificed,” Durand said, his mournful tone clear he was referencing the fallen dragon, “the people of Astana cannot withstand any more turmoil now that the enemy has retreated.”

Em gave me an expectant look, but I said nothing. Not because I agreed with the council, but because I needed a moment to ponder the man’s words.

Frustrated, she snapped, “So, you propose collaring them, and only using them as an attack dog when necessary. Where is your humanity?”

I tilted my head to the side, speaking to Durand. “They are living, breathing creatures. They will not be reduced to a weapon in such a way.”

“But if you cannot control them, Your Majesty,” he said, the corner of the man’s eyes crinkling as he braced for the impact of his words, “then what else can we do? As much as they’ve protected us, they have caused destruction as well.”

He spoke of the Wend, and my chest tightened. Reduced to embers and smoke, nothing had survived. I hoped to the gods Em had been successful in evacuating that portion of the city in its entirety before she rained divine fire down upon it.

“Collaring them is not on the table,” I said, arms crossed. I was king, and on this I would not bend. I didn’t wish to be considered a tyrant, and with the council in seeming agreement, I weighed each choice carefully.

“With obsidian, no less,” Em said. “They are made of my divinity. As it is, I believe Traekka is even smaller than she was before you ordered that collar to be placed upon her.”

“Then send them away,” Durand proposed, running his hand through his silver hair, and Em gasped. “Keep one to defend our walls, and send the rest away.”

One of the council members, a healer named Jaehren, stepped to Durand’s side. In a soft voice, he said words I knew would strike an arrow to Em’s chest. “Your Majesty, I have treated more burns than I even thought possible since yesterday.”

She worried her lip before crossing her arms and turning toward Irses. She put her hand on his snout and spoke quietly to the massive beast. I gave her a moment, waiting for her response, but when she didn’t speak, I turned toward the council members once more.

“Leave us. We will handle the dragons. Do not make such a decision without me ever again, or each of you will find your seat on my council vacant.”

Durand nodded, and one of the younger council members opened a rift. They couldn’t move through it fast enough. With just me and Em in the Hollow, we had the freedom to discuss things plainly.

“What do you think we should do?” I asked, already knowing how she would answer based on her stiff body language. Irses settled on his haunches, head resting on the ground, and Em caressed his neck. She didn’t bother to turn around.

“Nothing,” she snapped. “To do this to them after everything. Ryodiedto save everyone!” she exclaimed. Irses’ eyes slid shut, and he heaved a sigh.

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