Page 113 of Consort's Dragon
“I don’t think so.You have much to answer for,” Avera huffed only to be distracted by shouting.
Argent and Starlight circled overhead, dangling her friends.As Avera was rushed for a series of hugs and a “Well done, my queen,” from Gustav, she lost sight of the guardians.When she realized they were gone, she cursed.“Dammit, where did they go?”
“Hopefully somewhere far, far away,” Griff murmured.
“But I still had questions.”Such as, how had the ballad, which turned out to be fairly accurate, come about?Why had they told her mother not to love her?
At the same time, because of Opal, Avera had escaped Daerva at the right time, found Griffon, helped free the dragons, and in the end, not only rid the world of Zhos but that tyrant Benoit.
Perhaps their methods, while harsh, had been necessary.
“What’s next my queen?”Gustav asked.
“First, some clothes.And then… time to tell my people they’re safe.”
Of course, she could have chosen a different method, however, Opal wasn’t the only one who’d seen the future.
Hence why Avera flew over Velunda to start, perched on Starlight’s back, wearing her tiara, flanked by her consort on his dragon, a disgruntled Argent, who grumbled,This is very undignified.However, while he might complain about being ridden, he certainly didn’t mind when the people oohed and aahed when he landed in the marketplace.
When a crowd had gathered, Avera brandished her sword and in a voice that echoed loud enough for all to hear, shouted, “The evil that has plagued Daerva has been defeated.”
To which the people screamed, “All hail the Dragon Queen!”
And predictably burst into song, which over the next few weeks spawned a new verse.
The little tiara plunged into the Lake of Tears,
Defeating the puppet master Zhos.
With her consort Griffon, and mighty dragons,
She brought peace everlasting to all.
Epilogue
“That was the last petitioner,”Josslyn, the Grand Duchess, declared.
Avera sighed.“Thank goodness.”
Griff, sitting by her side because Avera chose to make her consort her equal despite his initial grumbling, chuckled.“Butt sore?”
“Very.”
“I’ll rub it for you later,” he offered with a wink.“But first, I have a surprise.Kraken Killer”—the name given to his old ship once he handed over the role of Captain to Kreed—“made port this morning and rumor has it they’ve brought some stuff from Verlora.”
“Really?”
With Argent no longer agitating the magma pool, the underground spillage of lava had ceased.The ocean around the continent stopped boiling, and Verlora’s mist finally dissipated.The Verlorians had been slowly taking back their country, though not easily.The giant bugs, snakes, spiders, and rats remained a problem, but without a dragon hunting folk—and instead, actually helping them—they’d been making progress.
“Yup, and you get first peek.Consider it a benefit of knowing the captain,” her consort stated.
Avera started to ask, “Is Si?—”
“Avera!”Simhi squealed, racing into the throne room despite the guards yelling halt.While Avera might be queen and treated with annoying reverence by most people, her friends still saw her as Avera, the woman who’d gotten greasy fixing the ship’s engine with Garth.
She hugged her friend before holding her at arm’s length and exclaiming, “You’re pregnant!”
“Indeed, she is.”Monty swaggered in next, smirking.“Growing me a fine boy.”
