Page 52 of Consort's Dragon
Avera arched a brow.“What special abilities?”
“You heard the dragon.”
“That doesn’t seem too remarkable.I have to think if they’re as smart as you claim, they could find a way to communicate if needed.”
“Your touch counters Zhos’ magic as does your blood,” Klothi reminded.Titus must have told her, since Avera hadn’t.
“But why does that work?”
Klothi rolled her shoulders.“I can only think it is because dragons and their bloodlines are the antithesis of Zhos.Think of it as oil and water; The two do not mix.”
“Is this why Zhos keeps trying to kill me?”
“It fears you.”
“Shouldn’t it fear all the blooded?”Avera waved at Titus.“It doesn’t seem to be trying to kill him as hard.”
“It’s been attempted.It’s just not been successful because we’ve put safeguards in place to protect His Eminence, since we feared such a thing.The cask of wine that allowed those soldiers to be possessed bypassed those security measures.”
“What of the other blooded?Like the leaders of Okkilam and Pequilh?”History claimed their families had been ruling for centuries.
“The Pequilh line is no longer blooded, as the dragon’s descendant and his heir died less than a century after Zhos’ quelling.As for Okkilam, there are so many due to them being prolific breeders that Zhos most likely didn’t think it worth the effort.Especially since they don’t believe in dragons and rarely treat with outsiders.”
“When Benoit had my family killed, he did so on Zhos’ orders.Given what you claim, it had more to do with ending my line than taking the throne.”
“Correct.Luckily, the false king failed, and you escaped.”
“Did you predict that?”She eyed Kachezi.
“Yes.Your mother’s death was foretold the moment the Dracova stones were stolen.That day set events into motion leading to where we are today.”
“I’m still struggling with the fact you let Basil take them.Wouldn’t it have made more sense for one of you to retrieve them?It would have given us more time to prepare.”
“As mentioned before, there were glimpses of different futures.The path we chose gives us the best chance to succeed.After being locked away for so long, the dragons will return.”
“And you’re sure releasing them won’t destroy Merisu like it did Verlora?”
“The Verlorians foolishly built around their volcano.Even if the dragon hadn’t caused it to erupt, eventually calamity would have befallen them.Ironic that a people who prided themselves on science forgot that nature can’t be stopped.”
“And what if you’ve misjudged the Merisuan volcano?What if the eggs cause it to explode beyond what the area can handle?”
“We’ve seen it,” Kachezi spoke, her expression dreamy.“Four mighty beasts rising from the mountain, once more gracing our skies.”
And hopefully not diving from it, ravaging the land and devouring its people.
Chapter13
Argent provedto be annoying as a passenger.So very, very annoying.And demanding.
The food wasn’t up to his standards.The bed too small.The clothing scratchy.
By the third day at sea, Griff contemplated dumping him overboard.Only the fear of what a retaliating dragon could do kept him from it.
It didn’t help the man didn’t prove forthcoming with answering their questions, keeping the replies short and unsatisfying.Like at their last dinner.
“Why do you collect gold and stuff?”Griff asked, wondering about the hoard.
“Because I like treasure.”
