The animals began to trickle in. The wolves first followed by the coyotes and the big cats—mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx. The bears arrived next.
Sid stood on his front porch as his yard filled with animals of all kinds. They were all leery of the dragons and each other, but they settled among them anyway. The elk, moose, bison, and deer came together. The whole ground rumbled as they ran into the yard. Aspen had her camera out. “This is incredible. Never before have I ever seen such a sight.”
“And you probably never will again. Have fun with that camera while you can. I have a feeling we’ll have company soon.” He chuckled as he glanced around at all the animals. “Company that isn’t quite so welcome.”
Aspen grimaced. “You know, it’s possible this won’t work.”
“I know. But we have to try. Too many lives have been taken so far.”
An eagle fluttered down in front of him.
We have called the animals, Your Majesty. The humans approach.
“It’s go time.” Sid opened the door and called into the house. “They army is coming.”
Skye ran out the door. “Here.” She shoved a white flag into his hand and another into Aspen’s. All of the kings and queens held them.
They would be standing at the gate when the trucks arrived, holding the flags above their heads. Sid hoped it would be enough to give the army pause. Then, when they saw the animals, they wouldn’t fire.
Aspen tugged on his shirt. “Look.” She pointed behind him. He turned and saw thousands of birds perched on every inch of his roof. He was surprised it didn’t collapse.
Aspen handed him her flag and snapped a few pictures. “If it wasn’t possible that we are about to die, I think this would be the happiest day of my life.”
He put his hand on her lower back. “Yeah. I can see that. Runa would’ve loved this.”
Aspen snorted. “Oh, gosh, yeah. She’d stand there with us and tell off the army troops.”
Then her face fell. “What are we going to do without her?” She wiped a few tears away.
“I don’t know. This has to end. The death.”
Aspen nodded. They walked hand in hand down the edge of the driveway along with Rowan, Skye, Val, and Hazel. The animals parted and bowed as they passed.
The six stopped at the wide-open front gate. Animals still trickled in.
“Sid, I think you need to change,” Aspen said.
“Why?”
“You’re the dragon king. You need to show them that.”
He handed her his flag and changed into a dragon.
The earth underneath his feet rumbled. At first he thought it was another group of bison, but when he lifted his head, he could see the trucks coming down the road. They went on for as far as he could see. This was the moment of truth. If the humans fired upon them, there would be a lot of death. He wouldn’t be able to stop his dragons from taking flight at that point. Sid hoped the humans would be reasonable.
Several trucks parked in front of them. The rest filled in behind. Sid couldn’t see an end to them. He knew there were hundreds of the trucks, based on the video Freddie had showed him, but it seemed like so much more when Sid stood in front of them.
For a breath, nothing happened. The truck engines shut down, but no one moved. The men inside the trucks who he could see craned their necks to see everything. Sid guessed this was not what they were expecting. It was what Sid wanted. The surprise factor. He could see a few others speaking into walkie talkies.
Sid wondered what they were talking about.
A man got out of one of the trucks. The two other men in the front seat pulled at his arm. He shook them off.
Aspen and the others held their flags high as he approached.
The man stopped in front of Hazel. He glared at her. “Hazel, what’s going on?”
Sid stared down at the man. He’d seen him before, but couldn’t recall his name.
“We’re surrendering. Paul, you know my story. Help us.”
Ah, yes. Paul. Hazel’s ex. This was fortunate. Maybe today would not end in bloodshed.
Paul pointed to the animals and dragons behind her. “It doesn’t look like you are surrendering. You’ve turned the animals against us as well.”
Hazel stomped her foot. “Do you not see the flag? We want peace. We want this over.”
“You know as well as I do that the humans will not agree to this. The dragons have killed too many.”
“Well, then it will be slaughter. We’re done fighting.”
“So you’re just going to stand there?”
Hazel nodded.
“What’s the matter? Does that screw up your plans?” Val asked.
“Our orders are to kill all the dragons. You’ve made it more difficult, but that’s what we intend to do.”
Rowan stepped forward. “Really, you’re going to kill all the dragons and the animals of Yellowstone. They’re all here.”
Paul poked Rowan in the chest. “Since when did you grow a backbone? Yeah. If that’s what it takes. We can’t have the dragons killing any more humans.”
He spun on his heel and headed to his truck.
“Paul, wait,” Hazel called.
“What?”
“Who gave you your orders?”
“The president.”
“You talked to the president?” Hazel asked.
“Well, no, but she’s who the orders came from.”
“Can we talk to her?”
Paul creased his eyebrows. “Why?”
“To see if we can negotiate peace. Isn’t that what we all want?”
“Maybe you do. But the American people don’t wish for peace with the dragons. They want them dead.”
“But you should still ask. Your orders were given under the assumption you would be fighting only dragons who were fighting back. Look around you. If you move forward, you won’t be winning a war. You’ll be committing murder. Is that what you want?”
Paul frowned at her, then pulled out his phone. He dialed a number, then rapidly explained what was going on. He rolled his eyes at Hazel and mouthed, “On hold.”
Several moments later his eyes widened, and he stood taller. “Yes, Madam President. I’ll relay your message.”
He held the phone away from him. “She has agreed to meet with you. You must come with me.”
Aspen shook her head. “No. We will not be tricked into some cell never to be heard from again. Tell her she can come here. We won’t hurt her. She knows that.”
Paul creased his eyebrows. “You want me to tell her that.”
Aspen nodded. “Yeah. Go ahead. Tell her Aspen sends her regards.”
Paul relayed the message. He cringed at whatever was said on the other end. “She said, no way in hell.”
“Nice words for a president. Give me the phone.”
Paul reluctantly handed over the phone to Aspen.
“Madam President, it is lovely to speak with you again.” There was a pause. “I’m sorry you don’t feel the same way. Listen, we’re not going to fight. But one thing you’ve forgotten about is that the dragon king is also king of the entire animal kingdom. You don’t want an animal apocalypse do you? Because if you start killing the rest of the dragons, Obsidian is going to order the entire animal population to attack. I don’t think you can win that one, do you?”
Aspen raised her eyebrows and gave Sid a thumbs up.
“Well, now you are talking some sense. Listen, I can assure your safety if you come here. You cannot say the same if we come to D.C. Let’s end this war, shall we?”
Aspen rolled her eyes.
“You can bring as many armed guards as you like. I would recommend a helicopter. I don’t think a car is going to make it up the driveway. When can we expect you?”
Aspen nodded and then han
ded the phone to Paul. He listened for a few moments then hung up. Without a word, he stalked away.
“Paul,” Hazel called.
“What?”
“Where you going?”
“Back to my truck.”
“And then what are you going to do?”
“We’re going to wait. Because apparently your sister has an appointment with the president.”
Sid let out a breath of relief. They’d done it. Well, almost. They now had to convince the president they were harmless. But for now they would have a reprieve.
Sid was ready for this war to be over.
Sid left Pearl and one of his other generals at the front gate. He and the others made their way to the house. The dragons and the animals were whispering of what was going on. He’d have to tell them something before he went inside. He waited until he got to the front of his house. Then he faced everyone.
The humans have agreed to negotiate. Peace is close. Now we wait. Be vigilant.
He turned into a human and escaped into his house. As soon as the door closed, he gathered Aspen into a big hug. “You were fantastic out there. You know that? Where would I be without you?”
Aspen blushed. “Probably dead.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Probably. How long do we have before the president arrives?”
“She’s coming all the way from D.C. so probably a few hours.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Hazel said. “I want a shower. Is the President of the United States really coming here?”
Aspen nodded. “Trust me, she’s not worth getting cleaned up over.”
“Well, I’m showering anyway. I feel disgusting.”
“She’s right,” Sid said. “If negotiations don’t go well, we have no idea when we’ll have an opportunity to shower again.”
They all escaped into different bathrooms. Sid didn’t want leave the steamy water, but he was so close to ending this all.
After he got out, he found Skye in the kitchen with the mixer running.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies. It will put her at ease. Trust me.”
Sid shook his head and flipped on the TV. The news channels were all reporting the movement of the trucks to his home, but no one caught on that the dragons were trying to surrender. In fact most of the newscasters were confused.
Slowly the kitchen filled with the rest of them. No one said anything. They all watched the same news story play over and over on the screen. After a while, they heard the whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of helicopter blades.
“Showtime,” Aspen said with a strained smile.
Sid took her hand. “Let’s go welcome the president to our home.”
Sid opened the door as the helicopter set down in a clearing. The president got out along with ten guards. Sid wasn’t sure what she expected them to do, because the dragons could kill her and her guards all at the same time, without so much as a blink of the eye. But if it made her feel better, then he’d allow them.
Sid shook her hand and moved away so she could come in. Aspen stepped in front of her. “If you’ll follow me, we’re meeting in the kitchen.”
The president and her guards followed Aspen, and Sid shut the door.
The president sat at one end of the table, and Sid took his seat at the other.
“Mr. King,” the president started, “I don’t see how this going to be productive seeing as your girlfriend essentially threatened the entire country. She should be executed for treason.”
Sid started to respond, but Aspen stood. “Excuse me, Madam President. I am the queen of the dragons. You will respect me as I respect you. What I threatened is not treasonous at all. You come in here treating Sid and the others like animals, not intelligent beings with a government. You would not speak to the Queen of England this way. I see no reason we should be treated any differently. You have threatened those under my domain. I simply chose to tell you how we would defend ourselves. I don’t see how that is treasonous.”
The president sputtered. She pushed her hair behind her ears and adjusted a set of papers in her hand, staring at them.
She opened and closed her mouth. Then she glared at Aspen. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, I am under a great deal of stress, and your threat frightened me. How can we come to a conclusion that all of us would be happy with?”
Sid leaned back in his chair. He did not expect this at all, hoping maybe, but not really expecting. “Madam President, I’m confused. I thought you wanted to kill us.”
She let out a breath. “There are not many things under my domain that are beyond my control or power. The dragons have always been, and that is difficult for me to deal with. Your queen has a way of making me see things that I don’t always think about, like the fact that you are not simply animals. I have a treaty. We are prepared to negotiate with the dragons so that no one else dies.”
She slid the papers over to Sid. He studied the legal speak. He would retain his rights to reign over the dragons, but if he, or any of his dragons became human, they were subject to the laws of the land. Then he read a paragraph that surprised the hell out of him.
“Madam President, I’m not sure I understand. This says that the dragons will live openly among the humans. Can you elaborate?”
“Yes. Mr. King. We are in a precarious position. The American people still do not understand what has happened. It will be up to you and your dragons to explain things to them. We cannot have them living in fear of what you are capable of. They will need to be aware that the dragons can become human. I believe that is the only way we can bridge the gap. Today will be a historic day if you let it be.”
Sid frowned. He hadn’t banked on that. It was definitely different, the idea of not having to hide. He’d probably have to deal with more dragons and humans falling in love, but that didn’t turn out so bad for him and Aspen. Laws would have to change. The dragons would fight him on it because it would seem like the humans were in control, but if this is what it would take to have peace, he’d gladly do it.
“Okay. Let’s do this.” He read over the rest and handed the paper to Aspen.
She glanced at it. “If you think it’s good, go ahead and sign it.”
“No, Aspen, you must be the one to sign it.”
She creased her eyebrows. “Why?”
“I am not human. I am a dragon and can not sign a legal document. You are Queen of the dragons, a human, and you represent us both.”
Aspen looked back and forth between Sid and the president. “For real?”
The president leaned over and handed her a pen. “Go on.”
“Can I read it first?”
They all waited as Aspen read the treaty. Then she picked up the pen and signed. Sid let out a breath of relief.
“Well, if you will allow my team in, we need to have a press conference to announce this new treaty. Mr. King, would it be too much to ask for you to change from a human to dragon on screen. It is very important that the people understand why I would willingly enter into this treaty.”
Sid nodded. That wasn’t too much to ask. A sense of relief swept through his body. This was over.
The president looked at Aspen. “Ms. King, I would like you to explain on screen what happened. Why the dragons attacked, and why there will be no more attacks.”
Aspen furrowed her brow. “Of course. But Sid and I aren’t married. My last name is Winters.”
The president chuckled. “Okay, Ms. Winters. Come, let’s end this war.”
There was a flurry of activity as the press team crawled through the group of dragons and animals. Sid wanted the people to see that he was capable of rallying not only the dragons but the animals as well. He never wanted to fear the humans again. Having the animals on his side was the only thing that saved the dragons.
The president took he
r place in front of the makeshift podium. About a dozen cameramen stood in front of her.
“Today we enter an unprecedented time. For the last several weeks we have been under siege by the dragons. Hundreds of thousands have died. Homes have been destroyed, lives ruined. But I stand before you today and proclaim that the war is over and peace will once again fill our land.
“Many of you are probably wondering how I can proclaim peace standing among the dragons. I say to you today that these dragons are not your enemies. In fact, they have lost many loved ones as you have. They were victims as well. I’ve learned a great deal about these extraordinary creatures.
“But I cannot tell their story as well as they can. I would like to introduce to you a young woman who will explain how this war started and how it ended. She will also take questions from the press when she is finished.”
The president allowed Aspen to step forward. Sid stood next to her.
She glanced up at Sid, licked her lips, and looked out at the crowd. Her hands shook at her side. Sid took her hand and squeezed it. She smiled.
“My name is Aspen Winters, and I am Queen of the dragons…”
Eighteen Months Later
Aspen held her camera in front of her face. The silver dragon looked magnificent. However, the couple in front of her looked terrified. The picture would turn out horrible if they wouldn’t smile.
Aspen lowered the camera. “Maybe if you relax a little, you won’t look scared.”
The woman chuckled nervously. “I am scared.”
Aspen approached them. “Pandora, maybe if you show them your human form, they’ll be more comfortable.”
Pandora changed, and a young woman with short spiky black hair and glasses smiled at them. “See, I’m just a girl. Nothing to be scared of.”
A hand tapped Aspen on the shoulder. She spun around. Ella stood in front of her with a large mocha.
The Kings: The Dragon Kings Book 5 Page 17