Page 2 of Winter's Dragons. Frozen Flames
"We will miss you," Raijin said, "but rest assured that it won't keep us from completing our mission."
As always, Emmerich was just as determined to assist me as Kerryn and Raijin. "You can count on us."
I was pleased to see their enthusiasm. My dragons were in charge of a new training module I had decided to set up. While the incident with the soulmate enchantment had been caused by an internal threat, it had drawn my eye to the fact that security measures in my realm had grown a little lax, and I'd decided to fix that. My dragons had been happy to contribute to my project.
It was as I leaned forward to kiss Raijin goodbye that Fiske popped up by my side.As soon as his eyes fell upon me, he dropped to his knees and bowed."My apologies for disturbing you, Queen Cheimon. Lord February has arrived with the supplies from The Realm of Eternal Youth."
Finally. That had taken him longer than expected. Due to my agreement with Eranthe and my still existing, if tentative, affinity with the realm of my birth, things tended to go smoothly in my dealings with my youngest sister. I didn't lack provisions, but I always felt better when the granaries were full and we were stocked up with all the supplies necessary to share with the people.
"Thank you, Fiske. That is excellent news. Come, my dragons. We must see to this at once."
I didn't bother leaving the palace the boring way. Instead, I waved a hand, and the balcony doors burst open, the blizzard already beckoning me to join it outside. I had no reason to resist the invitation, and I exited the building, with my dragons following me.
The icy winds carried us down, toward the bailey. Like Fiske had said, the caravan led by February had already arrived. The produce would temporarily be kept in the enchanted storage facilities on the palace grounds before they could be distributed to the smaller settlements in my realm.
As I landed in front of the caravan, I couldn't help but notice that the number of wagons was somewhat larger than I expected. Eranthe must've been talking to Pandora then.
"February," I called out, "report. What's all this then? Why were you delayed?"
My third lieutenant manifested in front of me, a contrite smile on his face. "My apologies, Your Majesty, but Queen Eiar insisted that we stay a little longer until her most recent crops were in bloom. She wanted to provide you with some herbs from her collection, in celebration of the good news you recently sent her. I could not deny her."
Of course he couldn't. My youngest sister was always like that. She took shameless advantage of her apparently innocent look and ended up convincing my minions to do all sorts of crazy things. On the bright side, she was discriminating enough to keep her crazier experiments to herself, something which I was incredibly grateful for. If February had returned from The Realm of Eternal Youth floating on a hallucinogen-induced cloud of happiness and bliss, I wouldn't have reacted well in the slightest.
For the moment, what mattered was that he was back and Eranthe had been generous due to her enthusiasm over my new and interesting love life. "I see," I replied. "Get everything into storage and be quick about it. We don't want a repeat of the last time the yeti stumbled into Eranthe's herbs. And give me the inventory ledger for everything. I'll need to check it over before we start distributing the goods."
"Yes, Your Majesty," February answered, producing the requested ledger from his coat and offering it to me with a flourish.
After one last bow, he gestured for the nearby nisse to join him. Before long, the wagons containing the supplies provided by Eranthe were on their way to my granary.
As February worked on securing the produce, I approached the group of amaroks still present in the bailey. They had acted as February's escorts on his journey to Tis Ánoixis and appeared to be waiting for further orders.
"Any problems on your trip?" I asked Alpha Panuk.
"No, Your Majesty," the gigantic wolf rumbled. His golden eyes shot toward my dragons, and he tensed as he acknowledged the presence of the larger, more dangerous predators. Still, neither he nor the rest of his group departed. "We've seen no sign of any disturbances. Nothing out of the ordinary, at least."
I nodded, understanding what he wasn't saying. Even on trips that went perfectly well, there were always disturbances when my envoys traveled to any of my sisters' domains. Theft was rare, as people knew better than to attack an official trading caravan from Tou Cheimóna, but my subordinates unavoidably ran into some creature that wanted attention, most often of a sexual kind. I didn't mind them indulging, as long as their dalliances didn't get in the way of their duties, and the amaroks were no exception.
My one concern regarding them was something that had been on my mind for some time now. Amaroks had not originally been pack-oriented creatures. They'd only begun to gather in such groups since I'd ascended to the throne of The Realm of Eternal Ice. As far as I knew, it had worked out for them, but I'd believed the same thing about Jack's compatibility with his assignment as the guardian of The Bridge of Frozen Leaves.
February's escort was actually part of the pack that guarded The Bridge of Melting Snowflakes. I'd already checked up on the remaining amaroks, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure everything else was in order. Perhaps Panuk had some information I did not, even if he had been away for the past month or so.
"Are there any other issues you'd like to report?" I swept my glance over the whole group, scanning their furry faces for signs of deception or displeasure. "Is everything going well in the pack?"
Much to my surprise, Panuk perked up at my words. "Yes, Your Majesty," he replied, wagging his tail in a way that made him look alarmingly like a huge dog. "We are actually most content. We have been blessed with a generous number of newborn pups, and several more of our females are due to have litters soon. If you so desire, we would be honored to receive you as a guest in our dens."
Uh. All right then. That had not been what I'd had in mind when I'd made my inquiry, but it was nice to hear. I wondered why the others hadn't mentioned the influx of newborns when I'd looked into the state of the garrison pack. "Thank you," I belatedly managed to say. "As soon as I can spare a moment, I will be sure to visit."
"We are most grateful, Your Majesty," Panuk answered. "Our females will surely rejoice at having our pups blessed by your majestic self."
What? Where had that come from? I'd never been asked to bless pups before.
I wasn't sure what I found odder, Panuk's request or Terry's insistence that I help him with his love life. Actually, I was. Terry's problem still ranked highest on my "why do I have to deal with this?" list.
Before I could make further arrangements with the excited amarok, a jolt of protesting magic erupted over me, echoing within my core through my bond with the realm. It wasn't painful per se, but it did feel a little overwhelming.I instinctively clutched my chest and struggled not to keel over. It wouldn't do to swoon like a helpless maiden in front of my people.
My dragons were instantly by my side, ready to support me. "Treasure?" Raijin asked, his voice thick with concern. "What is it?"
"The wards around Chronikos have been breached," I gasped out. "We're under attack."
