Page 63 of Lady Dragon
“Save your pity for someone else,” Kirek snapped. She must have had at least a scrap of pride remaining.
This doesn’t seem… fair, Valraka admitted grudgingly.I could easily be in your place.
“Not in this body, I hope.”
No, not in that body, at least. Which is why I pity you. How did this happen?
Kirek tossed her head. “Your mother didn’t seem to care, so why do you?”
The Queen Mother, Valraka corrected,and I think she cares very much about the transformation that has overtaken theDaughter Heir of Andrath, at least. Did you not notice how ravenously she looked at her? You are merely an unpleasant aftertaste.
Kirek grimaced and spat once more.Aftertaste, indeed.“I already told you. The Heartstone broke—in half,” she added by way of explanation. Let Valraka try to put the pieces together, because Kirek certainly couldn’t—neither in her thoughts nor in reality.
Her cousin’s red eyes narrowed.And the daughter heir has the other half?
“Yes. Wherever she is now. We hoped we might find help in repairing it here.” Kirek barked a bitter laugh. “We didn’t get that far, as our welcoming reception was cut short. They’re fonder of those in Andrath than in High Nest.”
They would be.Valraka snorted.But if the broken Heartstone is what’s changing the daughter heir, then I believe our new Queen Mother would have no interest in repairing it.
Kirek folded her arms in a feeble effort at nonchalance. “What about you? Are you a fervent believer in Raka’s return?”
My nameisValraka, the dragon said with a hint of wry humor.
Kirek was in no mood for games. “Be clear with me, cousin, or just kill me now and get it over with.”
As you wish.Rather than a death blow, her words came.Before, I never believed in my mother’s talk and dreams of Raka’s return, which she always shared with me and no one else, leading me to think madness was lurking within her, a sickness she wanted kept hidden from others.Valraka flapped her wings in the dragon version of a shrug.I don’t know what to believe now that I’ve supposedly witnessed Raka’s return myself. I don’t know if the daughter heir is becoming Raka, or if she’s merely an unstable dragonbeing shaped by a broken Heartstone.Ihaven’t seen Raka in my dreams, unlike my mother. I don’t know her by sight. But what Idoknow is these thoughts of Raka are still driving my mother toward madness—theQueenMother, she added, as if to emphasize the risk rather than the title, this time.
Mad dragons were usually killed, or left in the far wastes with their wings clipped to die. They were too dangerous otherwise—to their fellow kin, to humans, to the Treaty. No wonder Pavak had hidden her affliction from all but Valraka—bound to her in loyalty, as her daughter.
Now, if the Queen Mother was mad, then all dragonkind was at the mercy of her whim.
“You need to challenge her, cousin,” Kirek insisted urgently. “As soon as possible, while she’s injured. She can’t remain as Queen Mother if she’s truly mad—”
Valraka hissed, and the hair rose on the back of Kirek’s neck, despite herself.Tread carefully, cousin. I said I don’t know the truth of Raka, only the risk she poses to my mother. I would protect the Queen Mother from madness, rather than indulge her fever dreams. Protect her reign until I am ready or she proves she’s unfit, not take it from her now.
Kirek threw up her hands. “Then what do you want from me, if you don’t wish to act yourself? For that’s why you’re bothering to have this conversation with me, isn’t it, instead of eliminating your competition?”
Valraka huffed in derision.You’re no competition to me like this. Not worth killing. You might be worth something alive, however.She bent her head closer, and Kirek resisted the urge to step back.Find Samansa, and take her into exile with you. Leave with her, and never let her come back.
Kirek nearly laughed in her cousin’s face, which might have gotten her killed. “I’m not sure I could keep her from returning, with me like this and her like that—or even to find her in the first place, let alone convince her to leave with me. You heard what she said to me.” She couldn’t stomach repeating the words.
And yet she may change back into your princess, and you into something less powerless.Valraka nudged the saddle with a clawed toe.And when she does, I suggest you get far away, as fast as possible.
“I know both of us vanishing would only be good for you—and yet I would make it happen if I could.” Kirek shook her head. “We need to fix the Heartstone, or nothing is certain. What do you know of this cave?”
Valraka’s red eyes narrowed.Do not go there. You might encounter Raka’s remains, which could make Samansa’s decline swifter, or even encounter the Queen Mother and speed hers. She visits Raka’s resting place often.
“But it’s far, and now she’s injured—”
And yet still driven by zealous fire that makes her more determined to see Raka’s return than you could imagine.
“She’s also newly burdened by a queendom. She can’t just fly off and abandon High Nest!”
The Queen Mother may do as she pleases.Wecan’t risk her finding Samansa.Valraka drew back.So I suggest you go. Now.
Kirek glanced at the saddle. She was stronger than a human, but it was still heavy, and sand was difficult to walk in. Never mind that she had little food and water left in the saddlebag, and what she had, she should save for Samansa. “I would go a lot faster, find Samansa much more easily, if you carried me.”
Valraka hissed again, going so far as to snap her teeth inKirek’s direction, and this time Kirek did step back, nearly slipping in her haste.How dare you even suggest such a thing. I would never lower myself, as you have.
