by SJ West
“You and Dena are the most important people in Vankara,” Fallon replied. “The two of you must survive this war. It doesn’t make sense to keep you in the middle of the battle to retake Iron City when we can protect you better somewhere else.”
“Fallon’s right,” Dracen told me. “The two of you must be taken to a safer location.”
“I understand the reasoning behind the decision,” I admitted. “I just don’t like it.”
Fallon smiled understandingly. “I know you don’t. But for the sake of the country, it’s the best thing to do. If something goes wrong…”
“Nothing will go wrong,” I interrupted him. “We have the men, and the support we need in the air. All we need to do now is play our hand and force Nuala back to her side of the Iron Wall.”
Fallon dropped his gaze from mine, immediately telling me something else was on his mind, and he didn’t want to say it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Considering the fact that I was completely honest with him about my past, I felt he should show me the same courtesy about our present. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I think we should give the order to have Nuala killed on sight,” Fallon said. “If we take her out of the equation, we also take her dragon out. Without either of them around to give orders, the rest of the Fae will back down and quietly return to their side of the island.”
“You’re talking about assassinating the queen of the Fae. They aren’t going to like that. What if killing Nuala simply makes her a martyr instead? The Fae might end up fighting against us even harder.”
“I think that’s a chance we have to take,” Fallon replied. “But, I don’t believe this is a war the regular Fae citizens actually want. We’ve lived in peace for a very long time. Only Nuala’s greed has made her do this. What if she does plan to attack the other nations? Shouldn’t we do everything within our power to stop her? Just because we hide her from our sight behind a wall, doesn’t mean she won’t rally her forces and either attack us again or venture off our shores and attack someone else. She’s a mad woman, and we have to do whatever is necessary to stop her before she has a chance to take more innocent lives. The woman orchestrated the death of millions around the world with the plagues, Sarah. You have to see she can’t be trusted. Not now. Not ever.”
I looked over at Dracen. “You’ve known her longer than anyone. Do you think she can be saved, or should we do as Fallon suggests and get rid of her before she can become an even greater threat?”
Dracen sighed heavily. “The Nuala I knew never would have started a war like this. She used to be very kind and loving. I’m not sure what happened to make her into the person she is now, but I’m afraid the Nuala I used to know is gone forever. She needs to be stopped by any means necessary. However, I would caution against killing her. If anyone ever suspected that you ordered her death, I fear the Fae would feel obligated to avenge their queen. They are an honorable people, for the most part. So, while I agree with Fallon that she should be dealt with, I don’t believe we should kill her.”
“I have to agree with Dracen on this point,” I told Fallon. “I hope you can understand why.”
“I understand,” Fallon said in resignation. “Sometimes, I don’t have the patience to contemplate the political ramifications of things. If I see a threat, I eliminate it. That’s just the way I think.”
I reached out and covered the hand Fallon had on the settee we were sitting on with one of mine.
“Then maybe we can push each other to be better than we are,” I suggested. “I wouldn’t want to be with someone who always agreed with me. What fun would that be?”
Fallon chuckled and placed his free hand over mine to nestle it within the warmth of his hold.
“No fun at all,” he agreed, his eyes dancing with amusement as we continued to look at one another.
After a minute, Dracen cleared his throat as if he felt the need to remind us he was still in the room.
I didn’t let go of Fallon’s hand immediately. I didn’t care if Dracen was watching our private moment because I realized something as I continued to look at Fallon.
I was definitely falling in love with him.
Despite everything I learned that day, my feelings for him were still deepening. The life Kira led was so far in the past. It was as if those events happened to someone else, and, in a way, they did. I wasn’t that woman anymore. I was someone different. I was someone with her own ideas and hopes for the future. Most importantly, I was someone with her own destiny.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The journey back to Kamora wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be. Dracen seemed happy that I now knew about my past. He smiled and joked freely with us and even told me a little bit more about my life as Kira. He focused on my childhood more so than my later years. It made me realize just how lonely he must have been after I left.
“Why did the Fae always send you apprentices?” I asked out of curiosity.
Apparently, my mother had been sent to Dracen to learn from him, but I didn’t understand why. And Karis, my father’s last Fae apprentice and Nuala’s pawn, simply used Dracen’s power to conjure the plagues that killed more people than I wanted to think about.
“Very few Fae are born with magic,” Dracen answered. “I guess you could say I was their version of the Royal Academy. I taught their most gifted how to control the powers they were born with, and they provided me with companionship.”
I wanted to ask Dracen how he allowed Karis to dupe him for so many years, but I felt sure I already knew the answer to that question. When I first saw Dracen and Karis together in Ledmarrow, I could tell then that Dracen cared for Karis like a father would a son. Karis had manipulated a man who yearned to give his love to a child because he had lost his own. Yet, could I really blame Karis for what happened? Wasn’t Nuala the one who sent him to Dracen in the first place to implement her nefarious plan? She must have known how heartbroken he was after I ‘died’, and she used his grief against him by sending a young boy to take my place in Dracen’s life. I didn’t think it possible, but my anger towards Nuala suddenly reached monstrous proportions.
I was thankful when we finally reached Kamora. It meant our journey home was almost complete. I was eager to be back in Vankara, even if it was a country torn apart by war. I needed to see Dena again and know for certain that she was safe. The only downside to returning home was having to face Gabriel. I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle that particular situation, but understood myself well enough to know that keeping such an important secret from him might prove to be impossible. For years, I kept the secret of my true identity from Liam and Imogen Harker. Each day of my life with them had been tainted by the knowledge that I was lying about who I was. I refused to live yet another life where those closest to me were kept in the shadow of truth.
“If it matters at all,” Aurora said to me as I stood and watched our approach to the Kamoran palace through the windows, “I think you should tell Gabriel everything you’ve learned. It would only cause you more pain to keep the secret from him. And, if he ever found out the truth on his own somehow, I fear it would forever damage the relationship you built with him as Sarah.”
“But he abandoned Kira,” I reminded her. “He left her when she was at her most vulnerable. Maybe he simply wants to forget she ever existed.”
“Or maybe he was trying to deal with the grief of losing the two people he loved most in the world,” Aurora suggested. “He lost a child to death and his wife to grief. Perhaps it pained him beyond reason to see you suffer and know he didn’t have any way to help you. A person can only take so much loss.”
“Still…how could he have justified leaving his wife in such a state?”
“I don’t have the answer to that question, only Gabriel does. The only way to find out is to ask him, Sarah, and you can only ask him if you tell him the truth.”
“Then, I suppose I will just have to tell him everything,” I decided.
> “I will be with you,” Aurora said soothingly. “And I think Fallon will stand by your side no matter what happens. He loves you.”
“Can you sense that?” I asked Aurora because those particular words had not come from Fallon to me directly.
“Yes,” Aurora said, turning her little head to look at Fallon as he stood beside us, “I can sense his love for you. He has given you his heart, but will never say as much unless you choose to give him yours in return. His honor forbids him from saying the words to you until you decide with whom you want to build a future with.”
“He’s a good man,” I tell my friend, turning my head to look at Fallon as well.
“Yes, he is,” Aurora agrees. “And I stand by my earlier words. If you want to make him your mate, I fully support your decision.”
I let out a half- laugh that pulled Fallon’s attention away from our approach to the Kamoran palace to me.
“Is something funny?” He asked me.
“Aurora said something I found amusing,” I replied. “Maybe I’ll tell you one day.”
Fallon looked slightly confused but didn’t ask any more questions.
As the airship docked at the platform attached to the palace, we saw Sora and her two ever present female guards come to greet us.
“How did your meeting with the dragons go?” Sora called out to me as I made my way down the staircase from the living quarters to the platform to meet her.
“We were able to form an alliance,” I told her.
Sora didn’t look in the least bit surprised by my announcement. It was apparent she assumed I would be able to talk the dragons into lending us their support.
“Then my troops are yours to command,” Sora told me. “Treat them well, Queen Emma.”
“I will,” I promised. “You have my word.”
“Where are the dragons?” Sora asked, her eyes glancing up towards the sky as if she expected to see a horde of them circling her palace.
“They needed to make some arrangements before they could leave, but they should be here shortly. I was told they wouldn’t be too far behind us.”
“Then would you permit me to give you a gift while we wait for their arrival?” Sora asked.
“I would be honored to receive something from you,” I told her.
Sora looked at Fallon. “I have sent word for Admiral Edeson to come to the palace. I assumed you would want to speak with him about the transport of my troops on your ships.”
“Thank you, your majesty,” Fallon said, bowing to Sora at the waist. “I would most certainly like to speak with him to finalize the arrangements.”
“He is being escorted to the gardens where you met with him before. Would you like one of my guards to take you there?”
“No, I believe I can remember how to get to the courtyard on my own,” Fallon replied.
Sora then turned her attention to Dracen.
“Would you like to accompany Emma and me, sorcerer Dracen?” She asked.
“I think I’ll stay here if you don’t mind,” Dracen answered. “The dragons shouldn’t be too far behind and one of us should be here to greet them when they arrive.”
“Then, I will leave one of my guards here with you to help keep watch. If they arrive before we return, she will inform us.”
Sora turned to the side slightly indicating that she was ready to take me to my surprise.
“Hold on!” I heard Inara shout out as she and Able walked up to us. “Emma’s not going anywhere in this cursed country without me by her side.”
Sora lifted an imperious eyebrow at Inara’s brashness but didn’t make a reply. We both knew why Inara was acting so protective. Considering what happened the last time I was in Kamora, I think Sora expected my friends to be extra cautious.
Sora gave a little shrug at Inara’s insistence and began walking back into her palace. We followed her lead.
As we entered the structure, Sora shortened her strides until we were all walking together.
“Did you have much difficulty convincing the dragons to help you?” Sora asked me as we walked side by side down a long corridor to a set of black lacquered doors. One of the few sets of true doors I had seen in the palace.
“Yes,” I admitted which brought a look of surprise to Sora’s face. “But one of them believed in me enough to lend me his support. He was able to convince the others that helping me was the right thing to do not only for my country but for them as well.”
“Then you should count yourself quite fortunate,” Sora said, not sounding envious of my ability to gain the trust of the dragons, simply despondent.
“Emma’s always been able to accomplish what she sets out to do,” Inara told Sora. “That’s just the sort of leader she is.”
I was afraid Inara’s words would offend Sora, but the Kamoran queen simply nodded, accepting Inara’s statement as fact.
Sora’s remaining female guard opened the black lacquered doors to allow us entry into the room beyond them.
“These are my private chambers,” Sora told us as we entered the opulently decorated room. “Before I went to the dragons to see if I could form my own alliance with them, I had something crafted for me. I know now that I was arrogant in thinking I could just go there and have them trust me enough to want to be my ally. I imagined myself riding one of them in a triumphant return home.”
“They’re not pets,” I told her. “They’re sentient beings.”
“Yes, I realize how naive and imprudent I was about them,” Sora said, her voice reflecting those exact sentiments. “I thought if one of them deemed me worthy enough to bond with…well… that I would become someone respectable.”
“You’re queen of an entire nation,” I reminded her. “Why did you feel as though you needed more respect than that?”
“I only became queen because I was skilled in the art of seduction, Emma. I was able to make the king want me so desperately that he did whatever was necessary to make me his wife. I can assure you, to him, my brain was the least interesting part about me. I thought having a dragon as a companion would lend me more credibility to my people. It was a foolish notion and one the dragons immediately saw through. I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to ask them if they would be willing to give me a second chance…”
“Not yet,” I admitted. “But I’m not sure it would matter, Sora. No matter what I say, they are the ones who ultimately judge who they will befriend.”
Sora sighed despairingly but didn’t say anything else. She turned her back to us and began walking towards a room off to the side.
“I have something that might be of use to you. Emma,” she said, continuing to walk into the other room. It was apparent she expected us to follow her.
We entered a large walk in closet. A mannequin stood in the center of the room dressed in an elaborate outfit made from layers of supple looking leather dyed in varying shades of maroon, green, and gold. At the front of the headdress was a small gold beaded tiara attached to a leather cap. The cap was composed of intricately designed pieces of leather cut out to resemble elongated leaves. Strands of pearls hung on either side. The outfit itself was composed of an elaborate long coat that was fitted down to the waist but flared out from there to give a bit more room to move. A pair of matching leather pants and boots completed the ensemble.
Sitting beside the outfit was what looked like a riding saddle made out of black leather that was embroidered with gold thread in an intricate design. It was unlike any saddle I had ever seen. At the front and the back were stout leather sheaths that looked as though they were meant to hold the saddle into place between something.
“I imagined myself wearing the outfit as I rode my newly acquired dragon companion back home,” Sora said, shaking her head at her own arrogance.
“And the saddle was for the dragon I presume?” I asked, now understanding the purpose of the sheaths.
“Yes,” Sora said, walking over to it and running a gentle hand against the saddles seat. “It was de
signed to fit any dragon. The casings are adjustable to make the fit more comfortable for the rider and the mount.” Sora looked back over to me. “I thought you might like to have it, Emma. I seriously doubt the dragons will ever ally with me, and I would hate to see such a work of art go to waste. Once your little dragon is old enough for you to ride, it might come in handy.”
“They are extremely generous gifts,” I said. “Are you sure you want to part with them?”
“You can put them to better use. Would you like to try the outfit on? We should probably check the fit before you leave Kamora. If we need to take it out any, I can have my seamstresses do it quickly.”
Inara helped me into the outfit. The pants were a bit snug around the waist when I tried to secure the closure, but everything else fit perfectly.
“You’re showing a little bit,” Sora commented. “How far along are you?”
Inara was adjusting the collar of the coat for me when Sora asked her question. Her movements stopped for a fraction of a second before she locked eyes with me. I felt a sense of guilt that Inara had to find out about the pregnancy in such a way. It was something I should have mentioned to her earlier. It was one of the few secrets I could have shared with her without revealing my identity.
“Not very,” I commented, hoping Inara understood that the reality of my condition was new to me too. Besides, I didn’t actually know how far along in the pregnancy the queen had been when she died.
Inara flattened the collar down around the back of my neck before taking a step back.
“How did you know I was pregnant when we first met?” I asked Sora.
Sora smiled, making her look rather mischievous.
“I didn’t,” she replied. “It was purely a guess on my part.”
“A rather good one,” I commented dryly.
“I assumed you and your Queen’s Marshal were lovers. He seemed like a man who could get the job done rather effectively. I still assume the child is probably his, but since you didn’t give me a clear answer, I guess I’ll simply have to keep wondering.”