“What of your son?” another lord asked.
“What of my son? He did more to save this kingdom from monsters and chaos than all of you combined.”
“But the law says . . .”
“You ignored the laws regarding magician advisers. I chose to rewrite, and record, the laws regarding magicians within the royal family.”
“Your Grace!” they all protested loudly.
“Enough!” Jaylor bellowed, pounding his staff.
The entire room vibrated with his anger and his power.
“I need to learn how to do that,” Glenndon muttered, examining his own staff. That dragon bone was unique, special . . .
(The magic in the bone is limited. You used it all up in one grand gesture. Then you recharged it from the Well. That can happen only once. Use it sparingly.)
“You need to learn to listen and study the governance of this land,” the king reminded Glenndon. “You need to become as much a part of this Council as you are a part of the University.” Then he returned his attention to the lords. “Now as to the University of Magicians, you will have noted that they have resumed residence in the buildings granted them three hundred years ago by Nimbulan and King Quinnault. My troops have moved to the Old Keep within the palace grounds. Magic is not illegal in Coronnan. It never has been.”
“We have not voted on that, Your Grace,” Lord Andrall reminded him.
“Must we vote on a return to normal?” King Darville raised one eyebrow. “We will vote on new matters. Now we will discuss and vote on the matter of Jemmarc and his rebellion against the Dragon Crown. Then we will address my son’s status as heir and the return of my daughter to court.” He squeezed Glenndon’s arm in reassurance. “I will not lose you, boy. Not now. Not ever.”
“Same here,” Jaylor muttered. “He’s mine as much as he is yours.”
Glenndon smiled, certain of his place in the world for the first time.
And so life and politics in Coronnan settle back into predictable patterns. Patterns I have longed to be a part of but have been barred from by Jaylor.
Soon the magicians and the lords will fall back into complacency.
They have forgotten the threat upon their border. They have forgotten that their wealth has left others in desperate poverty. They have forgotten how vulnerable they truly are.
That is when I shall attack. From without and from within. Their magic and their dragons are not enough to defeat the troops and the armada I control from the Big Continent to their east. I have captured Master Robb and his students. Diverted his transport spell with the simple insertion into his mind of a new destination, a port city with tall towers, similar to Coronnan City, but not the same.
Long did the Circle of Masters ignore my power and my seniority. Soon they will learn the error of their ways. Soon they will bow to me and not the usurper Jaylor.
I have adopted the name the locals have given to my refuge. A name befitting me.
Monbastion.
Jaylor and the Circle think they have stripped me of power by the simple expedient of exile. They should have killed me.
I will not be so merciful.
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Be sure to read these magnificent
DAW Fantasy Novels by
IRENE RADFORD
Children of the Dragon Nimbus:
THE SILENT DRAGON (Book 1)
The Stargods:
THE HIDDEN DRAGON (Book 1)
THE DRAGON CIRCLE (Book 2)
THE DRAGON’S REVENGE (Book 3)
The Dragon Nimbus:
THE GLASS DRAGON (Book 1)
THE PERFECT PRINCESS (Book 2)
THE LONELIEST MAGICIAN (Book 3)
THE WIZARD’S TREASURE (Book 4)
The Dragon Nimbus History:
THE DRAGON’S TOUCHSTONE (Book 1)
THE LAST BATTLEMAGE (Book 2)
THE RENEGADE DRAGON (Book 3)
The Pixie Chronicles:
THISTLE DOWN (Book 1)
CHICORY UP (Book 2)
The Silent Dragon: Children of The Dragon Nimbus #1 Page 39