Page 96 of Consort's Dragon
“Thank you.”Avera beamed.“I can’t wait to see her.”
Gustav stiffened as the ship’s captain disembarked and stood by Avera’s side.
“You have a lot of nerve,” growled the rook.“You kidnapped the queen.”
“Sorry?”The pirate didn’t sound apologetic at all.
“Don’t be mad at Griffon,” Avera stated.“He and his crew are on our side now.”
“You can’t be serious.They’re bloody pirates,” Gustav growled.
“They only did what they had to in order to survive.The Verlorians were ill-treated after the catastrophe, but that is going to change now that we’re officially allied with them.”Avera took Griffon’s hand and Gustav’s gaze narrowed.
“What have you done?”Gustav queried through gritted teeth.
“What I was told to do once I inherited.I married.Griffon is my consort.”
“You married a pirate?”Gustav couldn’t contain himself.
“Actually, his full name is Griffon Leif, son of Chancellor Lance Leif.”
That only made it marginally better.An annoyed Gustav snapped, “Still not seeing how that helps.Verlora has no army to aid us.Nothing to give.While you’ve been sailing the seas and frolicking with a pirate, Daerva’s been suffering.”
“I know and I’m sorry it took so long.”Her lips turned down.“I ran into unexpected issues on my journey.”
Gustav felt chagrin at his harsh tone, but he had a duty to uphold.“Did you find those stones Opal told you to fetch?The fog’s now appearing all over the continent, as are Zhos’ monsters.”
“I fear there is no stopping Zhos’ escape,” she murmured.
“You can’t be sure of that.Did you find the stones so we can at least try?”
“Yes.”
Finally, a bit of good news.“Where are they?We’ll assemble a team to get them back to that dark lake.”
Avera’s lips pursed.“Unfortunately, I don’t have them anymore.And it turns out they wouldn’t have made a difference, since the spell holding Zhos had already begun to unravel.”
That quickly, Gustav deflated.“We’re doomed.”
“Maybe not.I’ve learned much on my travels first in Verlora and then in Merisu.”
“You were in Merisu?”Gustav exclaimed.
“Did you meet the emperor?”Josslyn asked.“Is he as bad as they say?”
“Worse,” Avera grumbled.“But don’t worry, he’s dead.Griff killed him after he forced me to marry him.”
Gustav blinked.“You married the emperor?”
“I didn’t have a choice.I’ve much to tell you.Shall we go somewhere more private to talk, though?”
“I think that would be best.”It sounded as if Avera had quite the tale to relate.“We can talk in the house we commandeered on the main strip.”
“Does it have a few bedrooms?I’ve got some people I’d like you to meet.”Avera glanced back at the ship and Gustav frowned at the man and woman who disembarked using the gangplank.The pair were much too pretty to be hanging with pirates, and at the same time, their appearance had something off about it.
The man, who held himself like a lord despite his less-than-wealthy garments, eyed Gustav before saying, “You must be the Grand Rook I’ve heard about.I am Argent.”
“Where are you from?”Gustav blurted.He couldn’t place the slight accent or physical traits.Who the heck had purple eyes?
